Social emotional education prototype conceptualization: NEET approach

Abstract

The presented article analyzes how the innovations of social and socio-emotional education help to systematize distance learning, help to analyze the socio-emotional competences of children and youth and develop them. Low social capital (as recorded in the well-being index) and poor mental health, a key feature of the COVID-19 pandemic, are leading to an increasing number of adolescent suicides. It is the leading cause of death for people aged 15–19 in Lithuania and Estonia. In Lithuania, the extent and pressure of bullying at school remains high and does not change. It remains the same in Estonia and Latvia. It is difficult for all Eastern European countries to build a relationship of trust among youth population. These factors, which reflect the changed social-emotional situation in schools during COVID-2019, require a new vision of learning. The constructed Social Emotional Education Prototype (SEEP) would include integrated family support, support for each teacher and child, the use of success stories in the development of emotional therapy, and integrated practice in social institutions and Non-Governmental Organizations (NGOs). Therefore, the authors sought to make SEEP suitable for family therapy, school practice, and comprehensive support, and to help address everyday social emotional issues for children, especially those from disadvantaged backgrounds and NEETs (Not in Education, Employment, or Training). The article examines the initiatives for the development of social emotional competencies in European countries, giving priority to the initiatives of rural municipalities. NEET youth is highlighted through good case studies to motivate and involve this group in active learning and work processes. The examples presented in the article confirm that the socio-emotional education of children and youth contributes not only to the success of children and youth, but also to the communities in which they study or work.