Author(s)

Markus Talvio, Minna Berg, Topi Litmanen, Kirsti Lonka

Department of Teacher Education, University of Helsinki, Helsinki, Finland.

Implementing 21^st century skills at school, including social and emotional learning (SEL), has become increasingly important in many countries. The present study investigated in four countries the development of teachers’ SEL, through which people develop their social and emotional intelligence, by using internationally widely-used Lions Quest (LQ) teacher workshops as an intervention. Possible changes in teachers’ attitudes, values, knowledge, and skills during the LQ were explored. An exploratory factor analysis was conducted using data from the pre-test responses of two countries. This analysis produced three factors. The created factor structure was further confirmed using pre-test data from another two countries. Repeated measures ANOVA (GLM), giving its ability to perform overall comparisons in one step, and the specified follow-up comparisons were used to examine the gain scores between and within groups, and to statistically control for some characteristics. The results showed that the teachers perceived the importance of the LQ goals as more important after participating in the LQ teachers’ workshop. In addition, they felt more competence in implementing the LQ content in their classrooms. Further, teachers valued the LQ higher after the workshop. In the comparison group, however, no changes were found. In conclusion, LQ appears to fulfill the expectations of supporting teachers in implementing LQ content, including 21^st skills and SEL, in the classroom.

Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), Continuing Teacher Training, Lions Quest, Intervention, 21^st Century Skills

Talvio, M. , Berg, M. , Litmanen, T. and Lonka, K. (2016) The Benefits of Teachers’ Workshops on Their Social and Emotional Intelligence in Four Countries. Creative Education, 7, 2803-2819. doi: 10.4236/ce.2016.718260.