During the last few years new technologies have challenged ineffective ways of learning and communication. Educators have been required to start fostering learners’ interaction and collaboration by strengthening their knowledge and skills in the area of social and emotional learning (SEL). SEL is a process through which people develop skills, attitudes, and values necessary to gain the ability to understand, manage, and express social and emotional aspects of their lives. Because of the lack of studies on SEL in teacher education, teachers have needed to improve their SEL competence by participating in continuous training. Lions Quest (LQ) is an international SEL program available today in over 100 countries. LQ promotes the creation of a safe learning environment, encourages the maintenance of solid connections to pupils’ families and networks beyond school and encourages the entire school community to learn to serve others. To maintain the quality of LQ, teachers must participate in the LQ teacher workshop which provides the tools necessary to apply LQ to work settings. In order to explore teachers’ learning from the LQ intervention possible changes in teachers’ declarative knowledge, procedural knowledge and the sense of competence of SEL during the workshop were explored. Pre- and post-test data from 2120 participants were collected in nine countries. Of them, 1206 teachers participated in LQ teacher workshops (intervention group) and comparison data were collected from 914 teachers not participating in a LQ teacher workshop. The LQ inquiry consisted of 33 statements that the participants evaluated using a seven-point Likert scale. General Linear Models (i.e. MANCOVA) tested for the effect of the intervention by comparing post-test mean differences between the intervention and comparison groups while adjusting for the pre-test values. The analyses were conducted separately for each country. The multivariate tests (Wilks Lambda) revealed that the intervention effect was significant in all countries apart from one. More specific investigation revealed that the intervention had a significant effect in developing sense of competence in all countries. With regard to declarative knowledge the effect was significant in every participating country apart from two. And, for procedural knowledge the intervention effect was significant in all countries except one, where no difference was found. Overall, LQ intervention appeared to achieve its goals since teachers’ declarative and procedural knowledge and sense of competence in applying SEL generally increased during the LQ. This study adds to both the theoretical and practical development of continuing teacher education.

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