Evidence from neuroscience and developmental psychology has increasingly emphasized childhood socio-emotional skills as core predictors of later-life academic performance, physical and mental health, and economic success. Despite growing demand for programs that support social emotional learning (SEL) internationally, almost nothing is known regarding the applicability of SEL programming outside of the U.S. This study aims to address this knowledge gap by examining the efficacy of an SEL curriculum – Programa Compasso (PC) – in Brazilian primary schools. PC includes weekly lessons delivered by teachers to improve children’s ability to identify and understand emotions, control feelings and impulses, get along with others, and focus and maintain attention. This study uses a randomized control trial design to assess the impact of PC on teachers' wellbeing (e.g., efficacy, mindsets), as well as children’s social-emotional skills (e.g., executive function, emotion regulation, social competence, behavioral functioning) and academic outcomes (e.g., literacy, math scores). To improve integration between the social-emotional practices used in schools and families, we will also test the efficacy of randomly-assigned audio messages sent to parents via cell phones.
This study is being completed with support from the Harvard Lemann Brazil Research Fund, and involves a collaboration with Drs. Vladimir Ponczek and Cristine Campos de Xavier Pinto from the São Paulo School of Economics and colleagues from the Instituto Vila Educação.
For More Information
To learn more about Programa Compasso, visit their website.
Recent Publications
McCoy, D. C., Hanno, E. C., Ponczek, V., Pinto, C., Fonseca, G., & Marchi, N. (2021). Um compasso para aprender: A randomized trial of a social‐emotional learning program in homicide‐affected communities in Brazil. Child Development.