Programa Compasso

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 aimed 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 used 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).  

This study was supported by 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., Tan, F., Fonseca, G., Ponczek, V. P., & Pinto, C. C. D. X. (2024). Exploring the effects of a social-emotional learning intervention in Brazilian primary schools: Findings from year two of implementation. Journal of Research on Educational Effectiveness, 1-27.

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.