Nurturing Social and Emotional Learning Across the Globe

OECD’s Centre for Educational Research and Innovation to improve understanding of social and emotional skills of school-aged children. The survey aims to understand how levels of these skills differ among students with different characteristics; how these skills matter for important student outcomes; and how students’ school and home environments influence skill development.

Sobral participated for the first time in the SSES in 2023, assessing the skills and learning environments of students aged 10 and 15.

This site note provides an overview of findings of Volume II of the SSES 2023 (OECD, forthcoming[1]) for Sobral. Volume II points to significant differences between and within participating countries and subnational entities (hereafter, “sites”) in how social and emotional skills are promoted in school, at home and by society, as well as how this relates to differences in skills.

The site note provides key results for ensuring students’ social and emotional growth in Sobral in three areas:

• the promotion of social and emotional learning inside and outside of school

• support and safety at school

• gender equity among students

Results for Sobral are compared to the international average across participating sites (reported as “average” within this note). By comparing results internationally, policy makers and educators in Sobral can learn from policies and practices in the other sites. Further information about the calculation of these averages can be found at the end of this note and in the Reader’s Guide within Volume II of the SSES 2023 (OECD, forthcoming[1]).

The target population in Sobral includes 10-year-old and 15-year-old students in public schools only. In most sites, the target population includes both public and private schools. Differences by socio-economic background in Sobral should therefore be interpreted with caution, including comparisons to other sites and the average across sites, as the full range of student backgrounds in the site is unlikely to be represented.

The OECD collaborated with the Ayrton Senna Institute as the national project partner to implement the SSES in Sobral.

• Students aged 10 and 15 who received more teacher feedback reported higher social and emotional skills. However, the strength of these relationships varies depending on the specific skill and site. In Sobral, receiving more frequent teacher feedback is most strongly associated with higher empathy, tolerance, sociability, creativity and curiosity at age 10 and achievement motivation, persistence, sociability, optimism and responsibility at age 15.

• In 2023, 36% of 15-year-olds in Sobral reported that their teachers provide them with feedback on ways to improve performance (average: 42%) and 32% on areas in which they could improve in many lessons or every lesson (average: 39%). Moreover, 21% of 15-year-olds reported frequently receiving feedback on their strengths (average: 27%).

• In almost all sites, 10-year-olds received regular feedback more often than 15-year-olds. In Sobral, 31% of 10-year-olds reported receiving regular feedback on their strengths (average: 38%). Additionally, 55% of 10-year-olds received regular feedback on ways to improve performance (average: 54%) and 48% received regular feedback on areas in which they could improve (average: 49%).

• Most teachers perceived online and remote teaching as a challenge rather than an opportunity for social and emotional learning, especially for developing social skills. Of the 21% of teachers who had taught students on line or remotely during the previous year in Sobral (average: 40%), 62% felt that the development of skills such as being assertive, sociable and enthusiastic around other people were hindered a bit or a lot by online or remote teaching (average: 65%). Some 30% of teachers with recent online or remote teaching experience perceived online and remote teaching as able to foster these skills (average: 23%).

• Teachers of 10-year-olds perceived fewer negative impacts of online and remote teaching on students’ social and emotional development than those teaching 15-year-olds in many sites. For example, 30% of teachers of 10-year-olds in Sobral with recent online or remote teaching experience felt that assertiveness, sociability and enthusiasm were hindered a bit or a lot by online or remote teaching (average: 50%).

• Many teachers of 15-year-olds felt not capable of and lacked training in social and emotional teaching. In Sobral, 11% of 15-year-olds’ teachers reported feeling not at all or only to a small extent capable of understanding students’ feelings and emotions (average: 27%) and 14% of teachers felt this way about helping students develop social and emotional skills (average: 30%). Moreover, 28% of teachers of 15-year-olds lacked training in incorporating social and emotional learning in the classroom (average: 29%) and 33% of teachers had no training in monitoring social and emotional learning (average: 40%).

• In most sites, teachers of 15-year-olds felt equally capable of teaching social and emotional skills as teachers of 10-year-olds but were less likely to have received training on relevant topics. In Sobral, 13% of teachers of 10-year-olds lacked training in incorporating social and emotional learning in the classroom (average: 16%) and 20% had no training in monitoring social and emotional learning (average: 25%). Around 9% of teachers of 10-year-olds in Sobral did not feel sufficiently able to help students develop social and emotional skills (average: 20%) and 5% of them felt this way about understanding students’ feelings and emotions (average: 19%).

• The formal integration of teaching social and emotional skills into general practices and teaching across subjects is very common across schools. In Sobral, social and emotional education is integrated across all subjects for 94% of 15-year-olds (average: 83%), while 51% of 15-year-olds attended schools where social and emotional education is taught as a separate subject (average: 38%).

• Despite the wide integration of social and emotional education across subjects, all students aged 15 in Sobral were in schools where not all teachers and the principal agreed that teachers should be responsible for social and emotional learning (average: 58%). Some 63% of students were in schools lacking a shared mindset among school staff (average: 42%).

• A joint acknowledgement of the wide-ranging impact of social and emotional skills was even less common: 95% of 15-year-olds were in schools without a shared mindset on the impact of social and emotional skills on social equality (average: 81%), and 90% attended a school where staff did not agree about their impact on youth employment and economic success (average: 79%). Launched in 2023, "Realizando Escolhas" by the Ayrton Senna Institute focuses on training educators to guide students in exploring career and professional interests. The program equips teachers with resources and structured activities to support students in self-discovery and informed decision-making about their future career paths. Initiatives like this may also help raise awareness among teachers about the impact of students' social and emotional skills on their job and career prospects.

• Students aged 10 and 15 who engaged regularly in extra-curricular activities reported higher social and emotional skills. In Sobral, engaging in extra-curricular activities is most strongly linked to higher creativity, trust, self-control, tolerance and sociability at age 10 and creativity, sociability, assertiveness, achievement motivation and energy at age 15.

• Students in Sobral participated in a range of different extra-curricular activities: For example, 30% of 15-year-olds reported participating at least once a month in sports activities (average: 27%) and 49% in art activities (average: 53%). Moreover, 31% engaged regularly in environmental protection activities (average: 29%).

• Students aged 10 were more engaged in extra-curricular activities than 15-year-olds: for example, 54% participated in sports, (average: 53%) and 51% in environmental protection activities (average: 54%). These findings may partly be explained by the fact that many 10-year-old students attend elementary schools, which incorporate extracurricular activities into their programmes. Offering extracurriculars within schools may provide access for students who might otherwise lack the financial resources, time, or motivation to engage in such activities outside of school. Sobral has invested substantially in full-time programmes at the elementary level, while expanding full-time offerings in middle schools has been a more recent development. The "Sobral 100% Educação Integral" initiative aims to extend full-time education to all middle school students by 2024.

• Students aged 15 who feel a greater sense of belonging, more positive emotions and less negative emotions while at school, report higher levels of all skills in all sites. In Sobral, sense of belonging is most strongly associated with sociability, optimism, energy, achievement motivation and empathy. Positive emotions at school in Sobral are most strongly associated with optimism, achievement motivation, persistence, energy and sociability. Students with less negative emotions at school report higher levels of emotional control, stress resistance, optimism, energy and responsibility.

• Students’ sense of belonging and emotions at school often differed according to gender, socioeconomic status and academic achievement. In Sobral, girls reported significantly fewer positive emotions and more negative emotions. Socioeconomically disadvantaged students reported less belonging. Low academic performers reported less belonging and more negative emotions. There were no significant differences in belonging by gender, positive emotions by socio-economic background or academic performance and negative emotions by socio-economic background.

• Across sites, students’ emotional experiences varied widely. In Sobral, the following percentages of 15-year-olds reported feeling each positive emotion at school more than half of the time: 34% felt confident (average 39%); 35% felt motivated (average of 33%); 41% felt interested (average 40%); and 50% felt happy (average 50%).

• For negative emotions, the following percentages of 15-year-olds in Sobral reported these emotions more than half the time while at school: 26% felt anxious (average 20%); 24% felt upset (average 17%); and 23% felt angry (average 15%).

• Good relationships with teachers and classmates are associated with higher levels of skills in all sites, but each type of relationship promotes different skills. For 15-year-olds in Sobral, the skills with the strongest association to teacher-student relationships are achievement motivation, persistence, curiosity, tolerance and optimism. For peer-to-peer relationships, the strongest associations are for optimism, trust, tolerance, sociability and empathy.

• Across sites that surveyed both age groups, 15-year-olds perceived a significant drop in personal care and concern from their teachers and peers, whereas perceived general friendliness and respect stayed fairly constant. In Sobral, there was a 22 percentage point drop from age 10 to 15 in students that felt that their teachers would be concerned if they arrived upset to class. Similarly, there was a 20 percentage point drop from age 10 to 15 in students that felt that their peers were interested in the wellbeing of other students.

• Many students who bully others also report being victims of bullying themselves. In Sobral, 11% of students report being both a victim and perpetrator of bullying, 15% report being a victim only and 4% report being a perpetrator only (averages: 11% both victim and perpetrator, 14% victim only and 5% perpetrator only).

• In Sobral, being a victim only of bullying is most strongly associated with lower levels of optimism, trust, emotional control, stress resistance and responsibility and higher levels of creativity, curiosity and empathy compared to students not involved in bullying, whereas being a perpetrator only is associated with lower levels of responsibility and trust. Reporting being both a victim and perpetrator is most strongly associated with lower levels of responsibility, emotional control, self-control, persistence and optimism and higher levels of assertiveness.

• Boys tend to agree more with gender stereotypes than girls, particularly with those related to women’s access to financial resources and positions of leadership. In Sobral, 18% of boys agreed that men make better political leaders, compared to 8% of girls (averages: 33% of boys and 10% of girls). More boys (7%) than girls (2%) also said having a well-paying job is more important for men (averages: 16% of boys and 5% of girls).

• Agreement with gender stereotypes is associated with lower levels of emotional control, responsibility and tolerance among students in Sobral.

• Women tend to take on greater responsibility for unpaid domestic tasks such as cleaning, cooking and childcare than men. For example, in Sobral, 33% of students said female relatives were mainly responsible for cleaning the house, while 3% said the same for male relatives (averages: 40% for female relatives and 3% for male relatives).

• Students in homes where domestic tasks were shared between male and female relatives tended to disagree more with gender stereotypes and have greater social and emotional skills. In Sobral, greater equity at home was most strongly associated with higher levels of achievement motivation, persistence, responsibility, self-control and creativity.

The 15 skills measured in the Survey were selected to provide a comprehensive coverage of those that are relevant for children’s and adolescents’ success and well-being:

• Task performance skills (persistence, responsibility, self-control and achievement motivation)

• Emotional regulation skills (stress-resistance, emotional control and optimism)

• Engaging with others skills (assertiveness, sociability and energy)

• Open-mindedness skills (curiosity, creativity and tolerance)

• Collaboration skills (empathy and trust)

All students completed a questionnaire where they indicated the extent to which they agree or disagree with a series of statements. Examples of statements include: ‘I keep working on a task until it is finished’, ‘I stay calm even in tense situations’ and ‘I am able to defend my interests when they are challenged’. Additionally, students answered a background questionnaire on their school and home environment. Information on the promotion of social and emotional skills in school was also collected via questionnaires from teachers and principals of the participating students.

Students in sixteen sites – six countries and ten sub-national entities - participated in SSES 2023:

• Bulgaria, Bogotá (Colombia), Chile, Delhi (India), Dubai (United Arab Emirates), Emilia-Romagna (Italy), Gunma (Japan), Helsinki (Finland), Jinan (China), Kudus (Indonesia), Mexico, Peru, Sobral (Brazil), Spain, Turin (Italy) and Ukraine. Data from Mexico did not meet the standards, and was therefore not included in the reporting.

Data from six sites who participated only in the first round of SSES in 2019 are included in analyses wherever possible to expand the coverage:

• Daegu (Korea), Houston (United States), Istanbul (Türkiye), Manizales (Colombia), Ottawa (Canada), and Suzhou (China)

While all sites in SSES 2019 surveyed both 10- and 15-year-olds, surveying 10-year-olds was optional in 2023. Only six sites included 10-year-olds in 2023:

• Bogotá (Colombia), Helsinki (Finland), Jinan (China), Kudus (Indonesia), Sobral (Brazil) and Ukraine.

Some 18,000 10-year-old and 52,000 15-year-old students took the SSES survey in 2023 across all 16 participating sites. In Sobral, approximately 2,200 10-year-old and 2,300 15-year-old students completed the survey.

The data represents about 630,000 10-year-olds and 3 million 15-year-olds in the schools of the 16 participating sites. In Sobral, the data represents 2,300 10-year-old and 2,600 15-year-old students.

Where averages are provided, these correspond to the arithmetic mean of all participating sites except for Sintra (Portugal) and Mexico. Data for Sintra (Portugal) and Mexico did not meet the technical standards. Further information can be found in the Reader’s Guide within Volume II of the SSES 2023 (OECD, forthcoming[1]).