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Utilizing Longitudinal Data to Evidence Sustainability of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) and Trauma-Recovery Programming

Mon, February 20, 4:45 to 6:15pm EST (4:45 to 6:15pm EST), Grand Hyatt Washington, Floor: Independence Level (5B), McPherson Square

Proposal

Summary
In the donor- and time-bound international development sector, it is a rare opportunity to collect longitudinal data. This gap in evidence limits the ability to measure the sustainability of intended outcomes. The Chemonics Injaz project in Syria is in a unique position to present ex-post assessment findings of a SEL and trauma-recovery program for displaced children and their caregivers. Findings demonstrate that improvements in social and emotional wellbeing remained over time across a number of indicators and therefore such programming is an essential component of educational equity in conflict and emergency settings.
Background
The Syrian conflict has resulted in prolonged exposure to conflict and insecurity that can leave children and adults with trauma and toxic stress that can negatively impact their social, emotional, and physical wellbeing (Tanyu et al. 2020). There is mounting evidence that social and emotional wellbeing can inform children’s ability to concentrate, communicate, and engage, all of which can negatively impact their ability to learn in school (Durlak et al. 2011; Taylor et al. 2017). Starting from the hypothesis that children with stronger social and emotional wellbeing and lower levels of trauma can more actively engage in their education, Injaz piloted its ‘Better Together’ SEL and trauma-recovery program for displaced children and their caregivers in 2021 with the understanding that children’s social and emotional wellbeing is often strongly connected to the social and emotional wellbeing of the adults in their life (Bryant et al. 2018).

SEL/trauma recovery pilot description
Injaz designed a curriculum equally focused on the five core components of SEL –self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, relationships skills, and social awareness – as well as trauma-recovery to identify and reduce trauma and trauma symptoms. A Syrian partner delivered the eight-week pilot to 191 displaced children and 107 caregivers in separate and joint family sessions.

Research
We measured SEL and trauma symptoms at three points in time: baseline, endline, and nine months ex-post. This longitudinal perspective allows us to measure change over time, with a view towards understanding the longer-term sustainability of reported improvements.

Methodology
Using a consistent and bespoke tool that measured 21 indicators for children and 27 indicators for caregivers, Injaz adopted and adapted questions or components of already validated tools utilized for displaced, Arabic-speaking youth populations. We paired data for 118 children and 58 caregivers across the three data collection points, allowing for a direct comparison of SEL wellbeing over time. We analyzed the data using descriptive statistics and further analyzed statistical significance using inferential tests of significance, such as paired t-tests based on scores assigned to the Likert scale results.

Key findings
Among children, we found statistically significant improvement across 19 of 21 indicators at the end of the completion of the pilot program. Nine months after the end of the program, the scores continued to show a statistically significant improvement across 17 of 21 indicators, including for all trauma indicators.

We had comparable results for caregivers. At the end of the pilot, we found statistically significant increases for 24 of 27 indicators. Comparing the ex-post data with that from the baseline, statistically significant differences continued to be found for 20 of the 27 indicators, including all trauma indicators.

Application of Research to Adaptive Programming
Our findings demonstrate that a positive shift in participants’ social and emotional wellbeing and symptoms of trauma persisted nine months after the pilot ended. We will share how these findings informed programmatic adaptations to further enhance sustainability.

Authors