WITHDRAWN: Practitioner Adaptations of a Social-Emotional Learning Curriculum in International Contexts

Introduction: Though program developers often give a set of prescribed curriculum materials and other resources, research shows that a certain amount of adaptation is inevitable for local conditions (Durlak & DuPre, 2008). These sorts of local adaptations can serve to the program’s benefit and be a positive factor in implementation effectiveness, as they help bridge the gap between the often sterile or idyllic environments in which programs were drafted, and the real-world conditions in which they are actually implemented. A balance can be struck between maintaining the “core” program components and adapting for the reality of implementation (Durlak & DuPre, 2008). Wanless & Domitrovich (2015) outline a three-phase approach for the implementation of SEL programs: an adoption phase, in which a school identifies, selects, and prepares for an intervention; an implementation phase, in which the intervention is actually carried out and real-time adjustments are made; and a sustainability phase, in which progress is assessed and larger adaptations are made based on the school’s particular concerns and conditions.

As SEL becomes a more-widely understood concept in international circles, we must understand how SEL programs are currently being implemented and adapted internationally. The Lions Quest SEL program has been implemented in more than 100 countries, and materials have been translated into more than 40 languages (Lions Clubs International Foundation, 2018). While there have been small studies of individual country-level adaptations (Salazar Silva, 2015; Matischek-Jauk, Krammer, & Reicher, 2017; Maalouf et al, 2018) there has not been a systematic review of the way international practitioners strategically adapt a US-derived SEL program. In this study, we will examine the adaptation strategies of a number of international implementations.

Methods: Data analysis will be conducted from country-level reports from at least 30 Lions Quest implementation countries. Country-level leaders from at least 12 international Lions Quest program implementations will be interviewed between November 2018 and March 2019. The researcher will use a scripted protocol for the interviews. Data will be analyzed using a constant comparison analysis to identify recurring themes.

Conclusions: We expect the findings to inform growing knowledge about the ways in which the concept of social-emotional is being adapted in the international environment, and to inform policymakers at the local and national level about how to analyze, adapt, integrate and scale a US-derived program in international contexts.