Analysis of Social and Emotional Education Practices through a Job Shadowing Work Model in Northern European Schools

Abstract

Northern European schools’ approach to learning and education promotes the development of students’ social-emotional skills. This study analyses the contributions of social and emotional education, from the perspective of the Northern European education system, analyzed through the practice of job shadowing. It is a methodology that offers new perspectives of study by facilitating an exchange of knowledge and experiences between professionals in the educational context. Specifically, this paper describes innovative activities, within the framework of social and emotional education, developed in some schools in Denmark and Finland. The participants are teachers from different schools in the city of Copenhagen, Denmark, and teachers from a school in the city of Helsinki, Finland. The teachers were selected for implementing emotional education practices. The measured variables refer to the strategies, resources, and methodologies implemented through an analysis of the observations and interviews. It analyzes practices that lead students to promote emotional well-being. It presents in detail group work strategies that favor attention to the socio-emotional needs of students. Finally, it highlights the contributions of the practices developed, collecting data through observation instruments and interviews with teachers of the institutions. In particular, it underlines the effectiveness of the implementation of strategies that promote the active role of students in relation to their peers.