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Last update: 20 June 2024

Ms. Aziza, a teacher from Takhar province in Afghanistan, has been living her childhood dream of becoming a teacher. She enjoys teaching and interacting with children more than anything. Every day, she goes to work with a purpose and strives to help students become productive members of the community.

Her classes are usually smooth, but she noticed some of her students have confidence issues; they struggled to speak in front of a class when asked. Ms. Aziza tried multiple methods to encourage them but could not succeed. “I did not know what to do. They were recluse and got intimidated by other students’ attention.” Ms. Aziza recalled. Things took a turn after she attended the UNESCO training on Social and Emotional Learning (SEL).

Based on the UNESCO SEL Teacher’s Guide for Afghanistan: Empower Healing Classroom from Inside Out, the UNESCO training on SEL equipped teachers with skills to establish a positive and inclusive classroom climate where students feel supported. They also learnt to respond to the social and emotional needs of individual students and offer personalized support as needed.

Defined as the process through which learners understand and manage emotions, develop and show empathy for others, and maintain positive relationships, SEL helps children and youth to make responsible decisions and achieve positive goals.

“The classroom activities we learnt from the training were very effective in helping children identify and express their feelings. The students were very active in the games we adapted from the training, including those who struggled with confidence. They become more engaged in these activities and laughed a lot more.” Ms. Aziza said with a smile.

Mr. Hussain, also a teacher from Takhar province, shared similar sentiments as Ms. Aziza. “I became a teacher because I wanted to serve my community and support children so that they can have a better future. Some students in my class were emotionally distant from others. I could not find an effective way to motivate them, until I attended the SEL training.”

"They become more engaged in these activities and laughed a lot more."

Ms. Aziza said with a smile

Applying what he learnt from the training, Mr. Hussain refrained from using negative phrases when talking with his students. He used activities focused on sympathy to help children trust and support each other. “Although they are not old enough to elaborate on their opinion of SEL, I see on their faces that they have become a lot happier ever since the SEL sessions. 

"They are now excited to attend class."

Mr. Hussain added

SEL is the key to building both emotional and intellectual intelligence in learners and can play a pivotal role in achieving sustainable communities. Studies have found that social and emotional competencies in children and youth are far more consequential for major adult outcomes than traditional metrics of academic success.

Both Ms. Aziza and Mr. Hussain believed that SEL training was crucial to their teaching. They recognized the immediate and positive impact of SEL components inside classrooms, as students quickly demonstrated an increased level of social awareness and understanding. “All other workshops we received were talking about us, but this one is about the students. It helped us create a classroom for students to take equal part, rather than as passive listeners.” Ms. Aziza said. 

“I think 90% of the teachers are not familiar with the concept of SEL. They would teach in traditional methods and approaches without paying attention to the social and emotional needs of students. I know this because I used to be one of them.” Mr. Hussain added. He suggested increasing the provision of SEL training to benefit more teachers and students in Afghanistan.

With support from Swedish International Development Cooperation Agency (Sida), UNESCO Kabul Office developed the SEL Teacher’s Guide for Afghanistan in 2023. Based on the guidebook, SEL training was provided to nearly 100 master trainers (43 women), who then cascaded the training to 490 teachers and community workers (244 women) across 20 provinces.

URL: https://www.unesco.org/en/articles/social-and-emotional-learning-happier-classrooms-afghanistan?hub=66923