SEL Kernels and Brain Games in Chile: Adapting Content and Measures for Context and Robotics

• In Event: Localizing Social and Emotional Learning: Adapting SEL Kernels in International Contexts

Proposal

In Chile, the children and adolescent population present important challenges in the field of mental health (MH) (Vicente et al., 2016); a fifth of the population has had a psychiatric disorder throughout their lives, and more than 70% of them have their onset before the age of 14 (Erskine et al., 2014). Chile implemented one of the strictest quarantine regulations in the world during the Covid pandemic exacerbating the MH crisis and severely affecting the development of socio-emotional well-being in students (Arias, Hincapié & Paredes, 2020). According to the Education Quality Agency of Chile (2021), 70% of children and adolescents have difficulties expressing their emotions. Additionally, educational teams in Chile lack pedagogical tools to manage socio-emotional challenges within the educational context effectively (Jenning & Greenberg, 2009). This project aims to adapt the evidence-based SEL Kernel program to the Chilean context. For this purpose, we will start with a pilot study in two regions ( Metropolitana and La Araucania) to analyze the adaptation of the brain games (BG) component of SEL Kernel. Later, we will implement the adapted BG in robotic workshops. Robotic workshops at schools are a promising strategy that can generate significant learning spaces that reconfigure the educational paradigm (Halverson & Sheridan, 2014) and promote collaborative work, leadership, good peer relations, valorizing error, and resilience, applying knowledge in new contexts, and strengthening creativity (Ardito et al., 2020; Kulikovskaya et al., 2019; Çakır et al., 2021; Wang et al., 2023; Hong et al., 2011; Pachidis et al., 2019). Therefore, we expect that robotic classes and their learning outcomes will be potentiated with BG approach. Then, we will measure the impact of the intervention on the behavior and neurobiological mechanisms of executive function and socioemotional skills in elementary students from vulnerable contexts. Positive outcomes can support the already existent data on the power and relevance of SEL Kernel approaches and open new opportunities for applications in novel and engagement contexts.

Authors

• María Florencia Alamos, Fundación Kiri

• Cristóbal García-Huidobro, Fundación Kiri