Responding to the field: Development of and findings from the PSS-SEL Toolbox

Abstract

There are many and varied frameworks for PSS-SEL being applied in many contexts, settings, and situations around the globe. Having diverse perspectives and approaches, to SEL is a positive sign for the field. However, without ways to make sense of this, important variation and to connect frameworks to each other, misalignment and, imprecision can occur. In addition, the majority of research, frameworks, and programs, tied to SEL come from the Global North, leaving out important perspectives and, variation from the Global South. In response to these challenges, the Inter-agency, Network for Education in Emergencies (INEE) convened a research-practice, partnership to develop a toolbox for Psychosocial Support and Social and Emotional, Learning (PSS-SEL) in Education in Emergencies. The online, open source toolbox, contains data-based visual tools to look within and across approaches to PSS-SEL, from over fifty countries, tools to guide localization and contextualization efforts serving, various objectives, as well as additional resources that provide further information about particular topics of interest within the project and the field. This paper describes, the process of developing the PSS-SEL Toolbox in which researchers partnered with organizations in 13 different countries to field-test the tools before publicly launching the site. We discuss findings and lessons learned from this multi-year and multinational, project including the most salient skills and competencies that surfaced across field testing sites as well as broad priorities and challenges facing practitioners in diverse contexts across the field of social and emotional learning and psychosocial support in education in emergencies.