SEL Does Not Happen in a Vacuum: Lessons from Peru

July 27, 2020

Social and emotional learning (SEL) is a complex term with different meanings and understandings across cultures and contexts. However, understanding these context-specific meanings is vital to implementing and measuring the success of SEL programs as SEL does not occur in a vacuum, an insight revealed through a study led by the Global Center for the Development of the Whole Child (GC-DWC). Alex Rios, from the UNESCO Horizontes Peru program sat down with the GC-DWC to share his experience in understanding local perceptions of SEL in indigenous communities in Peru and the role this plays in his daily work. The following article is based on this conversation.

The UNESCO Horizontes program works in several rural communities in Peru to support adolescents in developing their life plans through key SEL skills. While Horizontes has an SEL framework of ten different skills that connect individuals to their local as well as global communities, indigenous communities rarely refer to these skills with the same terminology. For example, when you ask a community member what the most important skills are for an individual to possess, they frequently describe SEL but not in the terms with which we may be familiar. By listening and taking the time to understand the culture and contexts that form these ideas, practitioners and researchers are able to identify SEL skills within local contexts, and say, “yes, this looks like solidarity” or “yes, this is empathy.”

Horizontes then uses this information to understand what skills and ideas are most important in different communities and how to best implement culturally-relevant programming to develop SEL. Although some may view SEL skills as universal, meaning they are the same in different countries or contexts, Horizontes believes that they are localized, and cultures often create new meanings or provide different frames by which to understand and develop SEL skills.

In the case of several indigenous communities in Peru, Horizontes’ discussions with their members revealed the collective nature of the communities, as opposed to other community contexts that are more focused on the individual. For example, when you ask an Awajun or Wampi adolescent about his or her future, he or she will speak in terms of family, and within the Awajun or Wampi people, family extends to the larger clan rather than immediate family members.

When you think in terms of SEL, this becomes very interesting because when developing an SEL framework, you usually start with the self. Before learning how to relate to others, you must know yourself, which means grasping skills like self-management and self-efficacy. Once you have mastered these skills, you can move to relational skills: working in groups, empathy, or collaboration. In essence, first you know yourself, then you know others.

However, given the collective nature of the Quechua, Awajun and Wampi people, Horizontes has found added value in beginning with both relational and individual SEL skills, at times even emphasizing relational skills more, in order to adapt to the community’s specific context and make greater progress in implementing SEL programming.

Beyond developing a contextually relevant framework, Horizontes recognizes that developing SEL skills does not occur in a vacuum. SEL skills are developed in contexts within communities; therefore, it is important for adolescents in the Horizontes program to also develop an identity and sense of belonging with their community. 

In the case of adolescents from rural areas, sometimes there is a sense of shame felt by adolescents in being from these communities. They associate their home with poverty, a lack of development, and being out-of-touch with the times. In many cases, this means adolescents aspire to leave the community and never come back, forgetting and neglecting their culture. While it would be relatively simple to develop SEL in a vacuum, and Horizontes could create the model of a perfect, well-rounded, and responsible person, he or she would grow up, leave, and forget his or her culture. This is why SEL and a sense of belonging and identity with the community are important for adolescents because it necessitates that understanding responsibility is not just responsibility with themselves (adolescents) but also with their town or community.

This is not to say that adolescents should not emigrate. Oftentimes to achieve their aspirations they must (e.g., attending university or institute). From Horizontes’ perspective, the goal is simple: if you do move, do not forget your culture, your community, your values. You can become an ambassador for your community and discover how you can leverage your local knowledge in a new context.

Ultimately, developing SEL skills and forming a sense of belonging and identity with their community enables adolescents to form a realistic life plan that they can effectively manage in whatever direction life takes them.

Photos courtesy of Alex Rios.