The project aimed to develop students’ social and emotional competences and enhance teachers’ skills in inclusive education. Based on the OECD Big Five model and LifeComp, it focused on task performance, emotional regulation, collaboration, open-mindedness, and engagement with others, comprising 15 sub-skills. SEL activities supported students’ self-awareness, self-control, empathy, cooperation, creativity, and mental resilience. The project sought to improve school climate, increase the sense of belonging, and reduce absenteeism, peer aggression, and social exclusion. A crucial goal was to support students with migration and refugee backgrounds. A free e-book of good practices and lesson plans was created for global use. The project supported Erasmus+ priorities by promoting equal opportunities, key competence development, and climate-conscious and recycling initiatives, building a solid foundation for inclusive education while strengthening long-term international cooperation and dissemination of results in Europe and beyond.
The project was developed in response to clearly identified needs of schools from Poland, Spain, Lithuania, and Türkiye to strengthen students’ social and emotional competences and improve teachers’ skills in inclusive education. Analysis revealed challenges in managing emotions, weakened peer relationships, reduced self-confidence, and limited collaboration, intensified by the COVID-19 pandemic. An important aspect was the need to support students with migration backgrounds, including refugees who had experienced trauma. The aim was to implement an SEL-based approach to improve well-being, school climate, and integration. The project included exchange of good practices, development of lesson plans, workshops, mobilities, mindfulness exercises, integration activities, and actions on climate awareness and recycling. A key outcome was a freely accessible e-book with SEL activity examples for schools and educational institutions worldwide. The project resulted in a lasting network of international cooperation and a measurable reduction in absenteeism, disciplinary issues, and peer violence.