Emotional intelligence development in two primary schools in Szolnok!

Emotional intelligence development sessions coordinated by the KÖZ-Pont Youth Association in Szolnok started at the Hungarian-English Bilingual Primary School in Kassai út and at the Szandaszőlős Primary School and Primary School of Art. The event was performed in the SEL in Action project supported by Erasmus +, in the framework of which the children take part in classes aimed at EQ development in the first and fifth grades for 14 weeks. The educational material was based on the methodology of the Northern-Ireland Barnardo's organization, adapted by the National KID Association.

The SEL in Action (SiA: Social and Emotional Learning in Action) program was created to bring together existing but isolated SEL initiatives, good practices and to lay the foundations for integrating social and emotional learning into the public education system. Social and Emotional Learning plays a prominent role in the school environment, in how teachers build relationships with children and their colleagues, how students form relationships with their classmates, and how each character handles conflicts within the school environment.
The project also involves two foreign partners, Barnardo’s (UK) and Forme (Italy). The program aims to take social and emotional learning to the next level by developing a methodology for social and emotional learning.
The National KID Association (OKIDE), a national organization, will execute the program in Hungary together with its 5 member organizations as the project leader:
- Sásd és térsége Nonprofit Kft. Pécs
- Változó Világért Alapítvány Szombathely,
- Köz-Pont Ifjúsági Egyesület, Szolnok,
- Mozgáskorlátozottak Egymást Segítők Egyesülete, Salgótarján,
- Szociogramm Nonprofit Kft., Debrecen
The project has three main phases, with 3 main but interrelated objectives:
- The first stage was about teacher training and the adaptation of the Northern Irish methodology
- In the second phase (currently) the developed methodology is being tested.
- In the third, final phase, the participants of higher education, teacher training, will be the focus of the program.