7. Implementation Principles

The analysis carried out by the partners underlined the relevance of making some choices at different levels in developing both the activities, the methodological materials, and the innovative resources.

Procedural choices:

o  Focus on both Social as well as on Emotional skills with a similar emphasis

o  Focus not only on awareness development but also on management on everyday life situations in school and other life contexts

o  Devote a specific attention to diversities, vulnerabilities and learning difficulties

o  Use a language in line with recent theoretical approaches and enhancing strengths and uniqueness

o  Adopt an ecologically relevant approach together with innovative methodologies, with attention to their flexible and personalized use

o  Devote space to development of SE skills in teachers and parents

o  Train the trainers to make teachers involvement more effective

o  Consider resources already developed and in line with the choices of the PSsmile project

 

Theoretical and methodological choices:

o  Assuming person centered approach. This means that in the reflection processes activated with the activities proposed we will focus first on people (me, the others) than on skills in themselves and on the agentic role that a person (child or adult) can undertake in their life contexts.

o  Adopting a double lenses approach. This means that as suggested by recent approaches we will devote our attention to a positive development of the individual and at the same time to a positive and sustainable community development (Flanagan & Levine, 2010; Hart et al., 2014).

a. Orientation towards current and future life. This means that we will orient the activities proposed toward both current everyday lives, as well as to medium and long-term future time intervals (personal, work, and social future goals).

b. A self-community binary. This means that we will consider that  an informed and engaged citizen is vital to both the individual positive development and wellbeing as well as to the health of societies.