In SELMA, researchers and employees in Norwegian Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) centers will collaborate to develop resources to promote Social and Emotional development and Life Mastery. The five core themes of SELMA derive from the Framework plan for kindergartens: Social interaction, Engagement, Love and joy, Mastery, and Acknowledgement.
Researchers at the Centre for Learning Environment and the UiS Business School lead the project in collaboration with a highly competent advisory board of experienced national and international researchers.
Collaborating partners are the municipality of Sandnes and KANVAS kindergartens.
The project will run from 2021 to 2025.
SELMA is financed by The Research Council of Norway and The Saving Bank Foundation DNB.
This is SELMA
The goal of the research project called SELMA is to develop and evaluate an intervention to promote children’s social and emotional learning and development in Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC).
The framework plan for kindergartens emphasizes the importance of children's social and emotional development. However, specific methods for fostering development and experiences in these areas are not extensively detailed in the framework plan. The SELMA project addresses this gap by fostering collaboration between researchers and kindergartens to develop and implement practical methods for enhancing children's social and emotional learning and development.
As part of the project, several resources have been created, including a resource book for kindergarten staff (Sosial og emosjonell utvikling og livsmestring – ISBN: 9788202801236) and a children's book (Snart skolebarn – vennskap, mestring og følelser – ISBN: 9788202860011). Additionally, SELMA has developed a digital resource featuring practical suggestions and examples of games and activities designed to support children's social and emotional growth. This digital platform also includes videos and music videos intended for use by both children and adults in kindergarten: https://selma.nettopuis.live/ .
The resources were rigorously tested through a large-scale quantitative comparison study involving approximately 100 kindergartens. Furthermore, the project conducted several qualitative studies to explore implementation processes and the experiences of children.
The SELMA project is a collaboration between Sandnes and KANVAS kindergartens and is led by researchers from the Center for Learning Environment and the UiS Business School. It is supported by a Scientific Advisory Board comprising highly qualified and experienced national and international researchers.
The SELMA framework is centered around five core components: Social Interaction, Engagement, Love and Joy, Mastery, and Acknowledgment. The kindergarten year is structured into five modules, each corresponding to one of these core components. Weekly themes are outlined in both the resource book for staff and the digital platform, which also includes a short film clip for each week. Kindergartens are provided with recommendations for books, games, and activities designed to foster children's social and emotional development.
Project Management
Norwegian Centre for Learning Environment and Behavioral Research in Education
