Educating for Well-being in Mexico: Large-scale implementation and impacts on teachers and students

• In Event: Roundtable Session 14
  In Refereed Roundtable Session: Educator well-being as a foundation for peace in a divided world

Proposal

Mexico faces significant social challenges such as inequity, violence, and chronic stress, all of which are acutely visible in schools. Teachers face heavy demands with limited support, while many students arrive carrying the burdens of difficult circumstances outside the classroom. These pressures disrupt learning and weaken the relationships that sustain a healthy school climate. In this context, prioritizing educator well-being and socio-emotional development is essential, not only to support teachers, but to foster the skills children need to learn, grow, and contribute to peace in a divided world.
Educating for Well-being (EW) was developed to address these needs as a systemic, culturally responsive social and emotional learning (SEL) intervention for educators in Mexico. Created by the non-profit AtentaMente and implemented in partnership with state ministries of education, EW has reached more than 70,000 educators and impacted over two million students across 22 states. Its design reflects the conviction that well-being is a skill that can be cultivated and that educators, when equipped with SEL competencies, can model empathy, regulation, and cooperation in ways that strengthen the social fabric of schools.
The program combines multiple components: professional development for educators, leadership training for those who have completed the educator training, and student-facing curricula adapted to local cultural contexts. Its theory of change is simple yet powerful: when adults strengthen their own SEL competencies, they create healthier relationships, foster safer classrooms, and model the skills that sustain peace in divided contexts. By embedding SEL within public education systems, EW ensures these practices are not peripheral but integral to schooling.
This presentation will highlight results from two major studies. The first is a large-scale pilot published in Social and Emotional Learning: Research, Practice, and Policy (2025), which engaged more than 1,000 educators and leaders across the Yucatán Peninsula. Participants completed the 80-hour professional development program and systemic leadership training, resulting in significant gains in teacher well-being, self-efficacy, and classroom climate. In partnership with Indigenous educators, the program also co-developed Socioemotional Maya, integrating SEL with Mayan traditions and language. This effort demonstrated that SEL can be adapted to strengthen cultural identity while fostering connection and cooperation.
The second study is a cluster randomized controlled trial of EW in Sinaloa, the largest early childhood SEL trial conducted worldwide, involving 421 preschools, more than 2,100 educators, and over 2,400 students. The trial found significant reductions in teacher distress and burnout, alongside improvements in awareness, regulation, prosociality, and self-efficacy. At follow-up, children in intervention schools showed measurable improvements in emotion regulation and prosocial behavior, with gains sustained one year after program completion.
Together, these studies demonstrate that EW is feasible, scalable, and impactful. By improving educator well-being and classroom climate, EW strengthens the social fabric of schools, enhances children’s development, and contributes to the broader project of peacebuilding in contexts marked by inequity and division. The evidence suggests that investing in adult SEL at scale is an effective strategy for cultivating empathy, compassion, and cooperation needed to bridge divides and nurture peaceful communities.

Author

• Leandro Chernicoff, AtentaMente Consultores AC