Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) and Its Impact on Teacher Stress, Self-Efficacy, and Attitudes Towards Inclusion: Longitudinal Insights from the StaFF-BL Project

TL;DR

This study explores how a social-emotional learning program affects teacher stress and student behavior in Swiss schools.

Contribution

The study provides longitudinal insights into the impact of a universal SEL program on teacher outcomes and student behavior.

Findings

Occupational self-efficacy and perceived accomplishment of teachers significantly increased with medium to large effect sizes.

About one-third of students with initial behavioral issues showed improvement after the SEL program.

Abstract

Social-emotional and behavioural difficulties are among the most common developmental problems in childhood and adolescence and present substantial challenges for teachers and schools. Universal social and emotional learning (SEL) programmes combined with standardised diagnostic procedures have been proposed as a promising approach to addressing these issues. The present study evaluated the first implementation of a process-based diagnostic and support concept (StaFF) in everyday school practice in the Canton of Basel-Landschaft, Switzerland. Over the course of one school term, teachers (N = 173 at T1; N = 83 at T2) and pupils (N = 1072 at T1; N = 339 at T2) from kindergarten to the lower secondary level (approximately ages 4 to 16) were assessed using standardised questionnaires. Teacher outcomes included emotional exhaustion, occupational self-efficacy, subjective personal accomplishment, and attitudes towards inclusion. Pupil behaviour was assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ). Data analyses comprised descriptive statistics, paired t-tests, and effect size estimates. The results indicated stable values for emotional exhaustion and attitudes towards inclusion, while occupational self-efficacy and perceived accomplishment significantly increased with medium to large effect sizes. At T1, more than one-third of pupils displayed at least one abnormal score; at T2, about one-third of these pupils no longer showed abnormal scores. The findings suggest that structured diagnostics combined with universal SEL measures can strengthen teachers’ professional agency and contribute to improvements in pupil outcomes while highlighting the need for long-term and multi-tiered implementation research.

Figures