SEL (social and emotional learning) movements in Japan: Principles and practices in Japanese context

Overcoming the socio-cultural barriers for the sustainable adaptation of SEL programs
Yu Takizawa
University of Queensland, Australia
Mental health problems among school aged children, such as depression and anxiety disorders, are becoming more recognized as serious social problems in Japan as they can become potential causes of school refusals, suicides and underachievement. Japanese schools recognize the critical importance of early prevention and intervention of mental health problems since early years of primary school. There are a range of overseas developed social emotional learning programs translated and adopted among Japanese schools, such as cognitive behavioral therapy based FRIENDS program developed in Australia. Research studies provide support for the efficacy of these programs for promoting the psychological well-being of Japanese children. However, the sustainable application of these programs among Japanese schools are still limited due to the socio-cultural barriers in Japanese schools, such as time constraint of Japanese school teachers and limited resources for implementing the programs. The presentation will review the socio-cultural barriers for the adaptation of social emotional learning program into Japanese schools, particularly in comparison to Australian schools, and discuss the potential solutions for overcoming these barriers in future.