Mental health outcomes following a four week online training on social emotional and ethical learning for public school teachers

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of a 4-week social, emotional and ethical learning online training (SEELOT) on public school teachers’ stress, well-being, social-emotional learning literacy, positive and negative emotions, attention, motivation, and frustration, and to assess the impact on their classes and personal lives. During the Covid-19 pandemic, teachers from public schools in Brazil (N = 333) were invited to participate and were divided into two groups: an active group (SEELOT) and a waiting-list group (WLC). They were evaluated before and after one month. A robust trimmed means ANOVA was used for data analysis. The SEELOT group showed improvements in their well-being, attention, motivation, and frustration, and decreased their stress levels compared to the WLC group. Additionally, a subset of the active group participated in semi-structured interviews and reported developing new skills and knowledge related to human values, emotional management, and the ability to handle the challenges of education.