Adapting SEL Kernels for Early Childhood Classrooms in Türkiye: A Pilot Study

• In Event: SEL Kernels across contexts: Adapting evidence-based strategies for use in different countries and learning environments

Proposal

Child poverty in Turkey stands out as a significant risk area with a prevalence rate of 22.6% (OECD, 2022). Poverty risks children's cognitive and social-emotional development, yet specific mechanisms can help mitigate these effects (Saitadze & Lalayants, 2021). This study, structured within the framework of ecological systems theory (Bronfenbrenner, 1979) and resilience theory (Masten, 2018), considers social and emotional learning (SEL) as a critical protective factor that can both support positive developmental outcomes and reduce the risks associated with poverty (Reyes et al., 2013). In Türkiye, SEL-based interventions are rarely studied in low-income contexts, and the scarcity of evidence-based interventions is striking (Ağırkan & Ergene, 2022). In this context, SEL Kernels could be a suitable intervention for low-resource settings with their low-cost structure and adaptability to different settings (Jones et al., 2017). This study aims to adapt the SEL Kernels to the Turkish context and evaluate the pilot implementation in underresourced schools. The study will focus on three dimensions of the Kernels representing different skill areas: Cognitive, Emotional, and Social. The pilot study will utilize preliminary qualitative interviews with school leaders and teachers to explore the suitability of the selected strategies and the supports needed for implementation. Information from these interviews will inform and guide the pilot implementation of the strategies. The pilot will be conducted over 10 weeks in two preschool classrooms with approximately 40 children aged 60-72 months. Teachers will integrate the adapted Kernels into their daily routines, and this process will be monitored through practice frequency records, teacher logs, and researcher observations. The Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation-30 (SCBE-30) (Çorapçı et al., 2010) and the Emotion Regulation Checklist (ERC) (Batum & Yağmurlu, 2007) will be used to assess changes in children's social, emotional, and behavioral skills. Teacher practice records, weekly tracking cards, and classroom observations will be collected to assess the quality of teachers' implementation. Pre- and post-intervention measures will be analyzed to examine changes in children’s social, emotional, and behavioral skills, while data from teacher logs, monitoring cards, and classroom observations will undergo thematic analysis to evaluate implementation fidelity and cultural relevance. The Kernels set will be finalized by incorporating adjustments based on these findings if the strategies are practical for teachers and positively impact children's social-emotional skills. This pilot will contribute to the panel’s comparative exploration of SEL Kernels adaptation by providing insights into culturally responsive implementation in an under-resourced, early childhood education context in Türkiye.

Authors

• Büşra Gündeş Orman, İstanbul Aydın University

• Gülden Uyanık, Marmara University