Barriers and Facilitators to the Implementation of a School-Based SEL Intervention in Rural China

Background: In recent years, the Chinese government has developed policies to promote students’ mental wellbeing, including increasing efforts to implement school-based Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs. Although SEL programs have demonstrated efficacy in Western contexts, little research has examined their efficacy in China, especially in rural areas. In addition, little is known about the contextual factors that shape the implementation of SEL programs in rural schools, which have less mental health infrastructure and personnel. The present study sought to address these gaps by examining the implementation of a culturally-grounded SEL program delivered in two rural schools in China. The program was delivered by teachers to fifth graders through an eight-session SEL curriculum centering on children’s social and emotional competencies.

Methods: We conducted post-implementation interviews with teachers and administrators (N=15) who implemented the program in 13 classrooms in two rural schools in order to identify implementation barriers and facilitators. All interviews were guided by the Consolidated Framework for Implementation Research (CFIR) and explored inner and outer setting factors, SEL program characteristics, implementer characteristics, and the implementation process. All interviews were conducted in Mandarin, audio-recorded and transcribed. Two independent analysts coded each transcript using Rapid Qualitative Analysis, a robust method for analyzing qualitative data in implementation science studies.

Results: At the intervention-level, the SEL program had a strong relative advantage, as there were no other mental health programs in rural schools. Other facilitators included a user-friendly curriculum and a multimodal design that successfully engaged students. At the inner setting, teachers identified school principal and administrator support as a critical facilitator. Despite leadership support indicating strong implementation readiness, teachers noted that the SEL program had a lower relative priority when compared to student academic achievement, such that teachers had limited time to deliver programming and support student mental health. At the outer setting, teachers described the difficulty of supporting SEL among students given low community awareness about the importance of mental health prevention. Additionally, teachers noted a need for more governmental funding, without which there was insufficient support to achieve the government’s goals to improve student well-being. Although the monetary incentive for teachers was an important implementation strategy that helped to offset stressors associated with integrating the SEL program into regular teaching, teachers identified a need for additional professional development.

Implications: This is one of the first studies to examine the implementation of a SEL intervention in rural Chinese schools. Our findings suggest that while teachers were able to implement the program, additional implementation strategies are necessary. First, teachers need ongoing training and schools should address the competing demands between student academic achievement and SEL support. Here, multi-sectoral collaborations between schools and local educational bureaus may help to integrate SEL instruction into regular school curriculum. In addition, community mental health campaigns can help to raise awareness about student mental health and increase family buy-in. Finally, focused policy implementation research is needed to better understand how to improve current governmental efforts to promote mental health prevention among students in rural China.