How are you feeling today?
Examining how tools to enhance socio-emotional learning among young children is key to laying a strong foundation for their holistic development and future well-being
Rautahat, Nepal: In a brightly-coloured classroom in Rautahat District in southern Nepal, Salisha Rumba holds up a card with a smiling face and mimics the emotion it depicts. Her classmates, Salisha Waiba, Saru Dhital and Sanjok Moktan, gather around, similarly practicing expressing how they feel using the simple pictograms.
This activity, introduced as part of an inclusive education package developed by UNICEF, Handicap International, and Setogurans National Child Development Services – under a partnership with the Government of Finland – is seeking to change how children understand and communicate their emotions.
These pictograms are more than just pictures; they are tools that help young children identify, regulate and express their feelings in an appropriate manner.
Using the cards, children can identify and name their emotions, and tell stories related to different feelings. This not only helps them manage their own emotions but also teaches them to recognize and respond to the emotions of others.
This is linked directly to socio-emotional learning (SEL), which is essential for the overall development of children.
SEL involves the ability to regulate and express emotions constructively and build meaningful social relationships.
Learning socio-emotional skills early in life provides a double benefit: it directly improves children's wellbeing and indirectly enhances their learning processes, ultimately also contributing to their employability and the development of prosperous societies[1].
Despite the importance of SEL, socio-emotional skills are the most underdeveloped domain for early childhood education-aged children in Nepal.
A recent national Early Learning and Development Standards (ELDS) study revealed that only 61.2 per cent of children are on track in their socio-emotional development.
Additionally, 10.5 per cent of children fall into the least developed/struggling category for socio-emotional skills. [2]
Anxiety is also a significant issue in Nepal, with 10.5 per cent of children between five to 17 years suffering from anxiety and related symptoms[3].
This anxiety can create a vicious cycle, compromising performance on cognitively demanding tasks and leading to underachievement [4]. However, appropriate socio-emotional competencies can prevent and help tackle anxiety.
To address these challenges, program staff have provided hands-on training to early childhood development (ECD) teachers on using the pictorial materials to support the development of socio-emotional skills. This training, along with other practical tools and strategies, equips educators to help children thrive.
Supporting young children like Salisha and her classmates to thrive and reach their full potential requires emphasizing the importance of SEL and capacitating teachers to internalize and impart these core skills [5].
References
[1] Bohlin, Hagekul 2009. Socio-emotional development: From infancy to young adulthood https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/full/10.1111/j.1467-9450.2009.00787.x
[2] Assessment of Early Childhood Education and Development 2022 A Report on Early Learning and Development Standards
[3] MICS Nepal 2019 www.unicef.org/nepal/media/11081/file/Nepal%20MICS%202019%20Final%20Report.pdf
[4] Maloney, Sattizahn, Beilock, 2014. Anxiety and Cognition. https://wires.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/abs/10.1002/wcs.1299
[5] Mondi, Giovanelli, Reynolds, 2022. Fostering socio-emotional learning through early childhood intervention https://link.springer.com/article/10.1186/s40723-021-00084-8?fbclid=IwAR0MaaGbfoBqRhJMFxeHavmIWjhB0Ke4wdw2mysp08Fxva73kb2nGGdSJIM
