Piloting a School Social and Emotional Learning Plan (SSELP) in Lebanon

• In Event: Socio-Emotional Learning: contextualization, assessment and growth trajectories – findings from Lebanon and Senegal

Proposal

Considering the importance of SEL within schools, the Lebanon Ministry of Education and Higher Education (MEHE) started a series of reforms to improve access to quality education, which recognized the need to integrate SEL practices into the educational system to improve school climate/culture, and enhance academic subjects and pedagogical approaches. However, SEL is still a nascent topic in the Lebanese educational scene.

This presentation highlights the unique approach taken to engage 26 public schools to pilot the School Social and Emotional Learning Plan (SSELP). The SSELP is defined as being a systemic whole school implementation of SEL that encourages safe, supportive school communities in which all young people are valued, with the aim of building an environment that supports the development of the child’s social and emotional competencies. The SSELP establishes systems for ongoing data collection, tracking of set goals, and data-driven decision making, instilling a culture of school self-reflection and continuous improvement.

We highlight three key processes as basic elements for successful SSELP implementation:

1. Partnership with Ministry of Education:
Our support to the MEHE to launch the National SEL Framework was a significant entry point to engaging the MEHE in the long-term, ecosystemic approach to integrating SEL into the educational context nationwide. The project SEL team and MEHE focal team together defined the process of SSELP implementation and co-developed two school-based assessment tools:
- School-level macro-tool to assess the school SEL environment holistically and continuously.
- On the ground micro-tools to assess specific contextual factors such as the classroom learning environment, teacher-child interactions, child SEL skills, parental engagement, and teacher/staff well-being.

2. Expanding the Institutional Community of Practice:
Within our sustainable approach to systemic integration of SEL, another key entry point was requesting a larger team from Guidance and Counseling Department to provide institutional-level support and oversight of the SSELP pilot in schools.

3. Cultivating a culture of learning
The Ministry formally requested that school principals form SSELP committees. Our effective engagement with schools involved: 1) meeting the principals first to inform them about SSELP; and 2) conducting informal visits to schools to become familiar with their context and meeting the school SSELP committee to build relations. We held trainings with the SSELP committees, emphasizing working as a team; having a common understanding of SSELP, their roles and why SSELP matters; and reviewing the macro- and micro-tools.

With data collected from the tools, we conducted thematic analyses to identify broad categories of prioritized needs, and to detect alignment between schools’ self-assessment data and their identified, prioritized needs. In this presentation, we will discuss an analysis of data gathered from the pilot program in 26 schools. We will also discuss the iterative process of establishing the SSELP in Lebanon, challenges and lessons learned toward long-term progressive improvement of school culture/climate through integrated SEL practices.

Authors

• Lama Marji, World Learning

• Samar Tawm, Ministry of Education and Higher Education of Lebanon