Hannu Savolainen

Socio-emotional competencies such as empathy, emotional regulation, and goal-setting are essential to students' well-being, positive relationships, and lifelong success. In primary education, socio-emotional learning (SEL) programs foster these skills and especially support disadvantaged students by improving mental health, academic performance, and social inclusion while reducing dropout rates. Despite their effectiveness, SEL initiatives are implemented inconsistently, highlighting the need for structured, research-based approaches. This article presents two international SEL initiatives for socio-emotional development and inclusion in primary education: SEL4@ll (Germany, Italy, Spain, Finland) and SO-WELL-AWARE (Austria, Finland, Portugal, Luxembourg). Both aim to strengthen SEL in schools but use different methods. SEL4@ll offers a serious game and digital teaching materials to engage students in developing socio-emotional skills and promoting well-being, diversity, and inclusion. SO-WELL-AWARE provides teachers with an online tool to assess students' subjective well-being and training to support evidence-based SEL strategies. Both projects show how technology and research-based practices can foster socio-emotional competencies and inclusion in primary education. (DIPF/Orig.)

Background/Objectives: School-based universal mental health interventions offer an inclusive and scalable approach to promote mental health and well-being among children. This study evaluates the Let’s Learn About Emotions (Opitaan tunteista in Finnish) program, an evidence-based, teacher-led universal school-based intervention originally developed in Japan and culturally adapted for Finnish primary schools. Methods: A total of 512 fourth-grade students from 14 schools participated in the 12-week program during spring 2023. Using a mixed-methods design, we assessed (1) the program’s acceptability among students, parents, teachers, and school principals, (2) fidelity of implementation, and (3) changes in students’ mental well-being pre- to post-intervention. Quantitative data included standardized questionnaires with valid responses collected from 233 students at baseline and 209 students at post-intervention, as well as parents and teachers. Qualitative data were collected through focus group discussions involving parents, teachers, and school principals during spring 2024. Results: Acceptability was high across all respondent groups. Teachers adhered closely to the teaching manual, as confirmed by self-reports and direct classroom observations. Statistically significant improvements were observed in parent-reported conduct problems, hyperactivity, and peer problems, though student self-reports did not show similar benefits. Conclusions: The program was found to be both acceptable and culturally appropriate in the Finnish context. Findings from this study provide valuable insights for refining and improving the program for future implementation. To more rigorously examine its effectiveness, future studies should employ a randomized controlled trial design.

Given the vital role of teachers in inclusive education, there has been growing interest in teacher‐related factors that influence their intentions to teach in inclusive classrooms and their inclusive practices. Based on Ajzen's theory of planned behaviour, we investigated the relationship between teachers’ affective attitudes towards inclusive education, subjective norms about inclusive practices, self‐efficacy beliefs, intentions to teach in inclusive classrooms and their inclusive practices within the same structural model. This study specifically focuses on two domains of inclusive practices: personalised instructional practices and collaboration and assessment practices. Using a sample of 695 Finnish basic education teachers, the structural equation modelling results revealed that in both domains, teachers’ affective attitudes towards inclusive education, subjective norms about inclusive practices and self‐efficacy for inclusive practices were significantly related to their intentions to teach in inclusive classrooms. These intentions were significantly linked to teachers’ self‐reported inclusive practices in these domains. Intentions mediated the indirect effect of affective attitudes towards inclusive education and subjective norms on inclusive practices. The mediating role of intentions in the indirect effect of self‐efficacy beliefs on inclusive practices varied across domains. While intentions partially mediated the indirect effect of self‐efficacy for instructional strategies on personalised instructional practices, they fully mediated the indirect effect of self‐efficacy for collaboration on collaboration and assessment practices. These findings have significant implications for enriching teacher training in inclusive education, enhancing educational practices in schools, and shaping future policies on inclusive education.