Unpacking the counselling approaches and practices to enhance the social and emotional learning, self-esteem and resilience of learners in Ethiopia

• In Event: Addressing Teachers’ unmet needs and persistent challenges impacting on their wellbeing in Africa: Education Policy and practices in five Countries

Proposal

Ethiopia has performed relatively well in expanding education opportunities. Enrolment at all levels has improved substantially. Primary school gross enrolment (grades 1-8) increased from 22% in 1994 to 99.2 % in 2018/19 in most of the regions. Ethiopia has improved overall gender parity in general education, especially at the middle level (grades 7-8), but it is still a challenge. At the national level, the female and male dropout rates for grades 1–8 were 12.2% and 14.1% respectively. The gender disparity in dropout rates was also highest at the middle level (grades 7 & 8); it was 12.9% in 2021, which is an indicator of inefficiency. Among the many factors that contributed to this disparity, the low self-esteem of girls was the one that also contributed to their low academic performance.
To mitigate this challenge, individual and group counseling using Cognitive Behavioral Technique/CBT/ was provided for 4064 adolescent girls drawn from 118 elementary schools and 26 high schools with the objective of enhancing the social and emotional learning /SEL/, self- esteem, resilience and coping mechanisms of adolescent girls. A pre- and post-test study method was used to check the impact of the approach in bringing improvement in the identified SEL and self-esteem competency areas.
The social and emotional learning as well as the self-esteem of female students significantly improved as a result of the intervention. The overall SEL of girls improved from the baseline (12.94%) to 58% at the end line. As to the specific key areas, major improvement was seen in self-awareness in grades 5 and 7, with 2.50 and 2.54 mean values (M), respectively from the expected maximum mean score of 4. Predominantly, persistence and mastery of orientation skills increased very much in almost all grade levels after the intervention, which also has a direct relationship with their academic performance. The self-esteem of girls improved due to the intervention because, prior to the intervention, the mean value of all self-esteem components was below average (2) and it became above average in all grades after the intervention. Considering the overall trend of self-esteem at grade levels, it increased across grades. It increased in grade 5 (M=3.07), slightly dropped in grade 6 (M=2.94), increased in grade 7 (M=3.13), and somewhat declined in grade 8 (M=2.97).
In conclusion, individual and group counseling approaches enhanced the social and emotional learning as well as the self-esteem of elementary and high school girls. These learners have also developed confidence, coping mechanisms and resilience. The intervention is integrated into the education system by capacitating 576 teachers, 26 school counselors, 1152 peer counselors, 288 principals, and 64 supervisors.

Authors

• Moges Mogessie, Aha Psychological Services

• Alebachew Alemnew Wobete, Aha Psychological Services