SEL Insights: Applying behavioral insights to social and emotional learning programs in global settings

Abstract

Research suggests that strong implementation across various dimensions, such as fidelity and dosage, contributes to the effectiveness of social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. Nevertheless, those who implement SEL programs are often faced with a variety of implementation barriers, especially as they relate to program characteristics or fit. These challenges are exacerbated in global crisis and education in emergency settings, where implementers often confront a unique set of implementation challenges related to feasibility and relevance. The paper presents a methodology for addressing these challenges using a behavioral insights approach, which draws on theories and evidence from a diverse set of fields to understand the root causes of human behavior as they relate to program uptake and use. Through a case study, the authors demonstrate how behavioral insights was used to explore implementation barriers and design potential solutions in a project to contextualize SEL programming in northeast Nigeria. Findings suggest that behavioral insights contributed to lowering implementation barriers and increasing participant motivation that ultimately encouraged increased uptake, dosage, fidelity, and quality of SEL programming. This work furthers the emerging integration of behavioral insights into SEL program design and implementation by describing a suggested methodology for the application of behavioral insights and outlining important lessons learned that may be relevant to future projects that seek to model this approach.