Social Emotional Learning and Soft Skills Measurement: Where We Are, and Where We Want to be

Group Submission Type: Formal Panel Session

Proposal

Improving education for a more equitable world must acknowledge the centrality of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) and Soft Skills (SS) as foundational to children's success within and beyond the classroom. When children and youth have the chance to develop SEL competencies and SS, we are creating opportunities for all learners- regardless of gender, ability, or circumstance- to thrive, which is essential for advancing equitable educational improvements. This panel will examine the state of SEL and SS measurement to highlight what we have learned, how we're learning more, and how we're planning to continue to improve SEL/SS measurement. We understand the critical role of Since the 2018 USAID Education Policy, which explicitly recognized the importance of SEL to learning and wellbeing, USAID has produced several key documents to support the integration of SEL into education programs, such as the Social Emotional Learning in USAID Basic Education Programs: How-to Note and Best Practices on Effective SEL/Soft Skills Interventions in Distance Learning. These resources have enabled staff and partners to increasingly incorporate SEL components across the education continuum. While progress has been made on how to measure SEL, which is described in our evidence brief Why and How to Factor Environment in Measuring Social and Emotional Learning and Soft Skills, learning among practitioners, academic institutions and donors is not always documented and shared. Further, key SEL measurement challenges require coordinated effort by many stakeholders to advance the measurement agenda at the sector level.

There is a need to improve understanding of and coordination around the landscape of SEL and SS measurement work and invest in strategically surfacing learning on how to measure SEL–including through tool and resource sharing, examining localization/contextualization processes and clarifying best practices for locally-led measurement creation –and key measurement challenges. This panel will share findings, reflections, challenges and promising practices on how to continue improving work on SEL/SS measurement within the education sector. Our introduction will provide an overview of the state of evidence on soft skills measurement to highlight some key findings related to adapting to the local context. Our first presenter will discuss approaches being used to advance our learning on how to localize SEL measurements through exploring lessons from data collection about local needs and prioritization of skills across four contexts: Colombia, Haiti, Honduras and Liberia. Secondly, we will hear about ongoing work to identify measurement gaps and create measurement maps that link existing measures to INEE’s measurement library. Finally, we will hear about an inter-agency network seeking to elevate the importance of SEL/SS measurement including their identification of a vision for the field of SEL/SS measurement, and a theory of change for the sector.

Sub Unit

• General Pool

Chair

• Rebecca Povec Pagel, USAID Center for Education

Individual Presentations

• Developing context-specific measures of children’s SEL in partnership with the education ecosystem: Lessons from Colombia, Haiti, Honduras, and Liberia - Nikhit D'Sa, University of Notre Dame; Jeongmin Lee, University of Notre Dame

• Developing Measurement Maps and Identifying Measurement Gaps: Linking the PSS-SEL Toolbox with INEE’s Measurement Library - Silvia Diazgranados, International Rescue Committee

• Building a Shared Vision for SEL Measurement into the Future - Karla Giuliano Sarr, EnCompass LLC

Discussant

• Julia Finder Johna, Save the Children US