Schools are most successful when they respond to the academic, social and emotional needs of students. The wellbeing principles influence not only the content of the curriculum, but also how teachers structure their teaching and learning and the opportunities they create for children to practice socialisation. Teachers are therefore key agents in delivering the wellbeing agenda. In this research, we present teachers’ experiences with and perceptions of a novel socioemotional learning programme utilising puppetry and storytelling. Specifically, we examined teachers’ perceived benefits of the programme to the children, the impact of the programme on their own knowledge and self-efficacy, and the evaluation of the programme as a professional development tool.

Health and wellbeing education has been recognised as a priority globally, with national and local initiatives promoting and embedding socioemotional learning (SEL) across the curricula (European Commission, 2018; UNESCO, 2021). There is unequivocal evidence that health and wellbeing education and education outcomes are synergistic (Bonell et al., 2014). SEL not only promotes individual wellbeing and reduces mental health difficulties, but is also positively related with school success, school attitudes, behaviours, and learning outcomes, ultimately preparing children for the challenges of the outside world and equipping them with skills and tools for engaged citizenship (European Commission, 2021). Schools have been recognised as key contexts for prompting health and wellbeing, as they offer a platform and safe space for socialisation and the development of key social and emotional competencies. However, little is known about how well-equipped and well-supported teachers feel in delivering the wellbeing education agenda.

Since health and wellbeing education is fundamental for equipping learners for the challenges of the modern world and for realising equity and social justice, it is imperative that key stakeholders – teachers – are also equipped with skills and feel confident in teaching health and wellbeing, as well as feel supported in responding to the diverse needs of learners. Evidence from the literature, suggest significant gaps in professional development opportunities for teachers, in the areas of health and wellbeing education (Byrne et al., 2018; Otten et al., 2022). Confidence in the topic is often cited as a main barrier and challenge: teachers’ understanding of the value of health and wellbeing is crucial for a sustained impact. Professional development initiatives that promote health and wellbeing literacy amongst teachers, prove most effective and successful when contextualised, modelled and delivered in a collaborative, adaptive way (Otten et al., 2022). Supportive environment, climate of care, commitment from the leadership and a school ethos are also cited among the key factors influencing teachers identity as health and wellbeing promoters (Byrne et al., 2018; Spratt, 2016).

This research examined teachers’ experiences with and perspectives on an SEL programme utilising the power of puppetry and storytelling, focusing specifically on their evaluation of the programme as a teacher development tool. We focus on exploring the impact of the programme on teachers’ self-efficacy and the classroom environment. Teachers’ self-efficacy, which plays a significant role in their practice, influences their resilience, persistence and motivation (Skaalvik & Skaalvik, 2007), and is found to rely on both internal factors (e.g. knowledge, values, confidence) and environmental factors (community, leadership support). It is therefore imperative to evaluate the SEL intervention, with respect to these areas.

In collaboration with a puppetry and visual theatre arts organisation – Puppet Animation Scotland, we designed a bespoke 6-week long SEL programme - Puppetry and Emotional Resilience (P&ER). The programme addresses Zins et al. (2007) core SEL competencies in each of the weekly sessions. All activities are accompanied by custom-made puppets, books, games and art and craft activities. Participating teachers received training in puppet theatre from the professional puppeteers and received all the programme materials. We delivered the programme in 7 Scottish schools and nurseries, located in rural and urban areas with high social deprivation. Children in these areas are often at higher risk of developing emotional dysregulation and behavioral problems, and might be further disadvantaged when starting formal education. To evaluate the potential benefit of the programme to school transitions, we invited teachers to participate in a mixed-methods evaluation study. The shape and scope of the evaluation were agreed upon individually and co-created, with each of the participating settings to respect the voice, inputs and ethics of those working with vulnerable groups in research (Aldridge, 2014). Four teachers (1 from rural and 3 from urban school) completed a Teachers' Sense of Efficacy Scale (TSES), a weekly diary, and took part in interviews after they completed the programme. Teachers' sense of efficacy is a powerful construct, which has been shown to be related to student outcomes, such as achievement or motivation. Here, teachers completed a short version of the TSES containing 12 opinion statements illustrating the kinds of things that create difficulties for teachers in their school activities. Each week, teachers were invited to submit a short account of their experience with the puppet programme, using an online diary. Finally, we collected a rich account of teachers’ experiences in semi-structured interviews. The interviews took place over the phone in March 2022 (rural cluster), and in June 2022 (urban cluster), and lasted between 30-45 minutes. During the interviews, participants reflected on the strengths of the programme and areas, where it could be improved. They shared their subjective experience of the programme and observations of how children responded. Data from the weekly diaries provided a context to the programme, whilst the interview data was coded independently by two researchers and analysed thematically using an abductive approach (Vila-Henninger et al., 2022).

There is an urgent need for accessible, inclusive and adaptive interventions that promote health and wellbeing education in early years. Here, we explored teachers’ experience with and perceptions of this puppetry programme, aimed at supporting schools’ transitions and SEL. An iterative process of theoretically-grounded data reduction unravelled three key broad aspects of the programme. The positive impact on individual children has also benefited the whole class ethics and environment. Increases in emotional literacy, prosocial development and improvement in cognitive skills and decision-making, have been particularly noticeable for more vulnerable children. Teachers have also applauded the programme for its accessibility, flexibility and adaptability. The structure, components and training provided positively impacted on teachers’ conceptual knowledge, confidence and empowered them to embed more SEL activities in their daily practice. The biggest shift in confidence and self-efficacy was observed by newly-qualified teachers, who found new ways of connecting with children’s interests and gained better insights into children’s skills and abilities. Altogether these findings illustrate that a well-designed and accessible intervention targeting health and wellbeing education, can make a significant positive impact on teachers’ development, the class environment and children’s socioemotional development. We believe that art-based interventions, such as those using puppetry, have the potential to contribute to the development of health and wellbeing literacy amongst teachers, ultimately supporting school transitions and socioemotional development in young children.

Aldridge, J. (2014). Working with vulnerable groups in social research: Dilemmas by default and design. Qualitative Research, 14(1), 112–130. https://doi.org/10.1177/1468794112455041 Bonell, C., Humphrey, N., Fletcher, A., Moore, L., Anderson, R., & Campbell, R. (2014). Why schools should promote students’ health and wellbeing. BMJ, 348, g3078. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.g3078 Byrne, J., Rietdijk, W., & Pickett, K. (2018). Teachers as health promoters: Factors that influence early career teachers to engage with health and wellbeing education. Teaching and Teacher Education, 69, 289–299. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.tate.2017.10.020 European Commission. (2018). Strengthening social and emotional education as a core curricular area across the EU: A review of the international evidence : analytical report. Publications Office. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2766/664439 European Commission. (2021). A systemic, whole-school approach to mental health and well-being in schools in the EU: Analytical report. Publications Office. https://data.europa.eu/doi/10.2766/50546 Otten, C., Nash, R., & Patterson, K. (2022). Professional development in health education for primary school teachers: A systematised review of the literature. Professional Development in Education, 1–23. https://doi.org/10.1080/19415257.2022.2038233 Skaalvik, E. M., & Skaalvik, S. (2007). Dimensions of teacher self-efficacy and relations with strain factors, perceived collective teacher efficacy, and teacher burnout. Journal of Educational Psychology, 99, 611–625. https://doi.org/10.1037/0022-0663.99.3.611 Spratt, J. (2016). Childhood wellbeing: What role for education? British Educational Research Journal, 42(2), 223–239. https://doi.org/10.1002/berj.3211 UNESCO. (2021). Acting for recovery, resilience and reimagining education: The Global Education Coalition in action—UNESCO Digital Library. https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000379797 Vila-Henninger, L., Dupuy, C., Van Ingelgom, V., Caprioli, M., Teuber, F., Pennetreau, D., Bussi, M., & Le Gall, C. (2022). Abductive Coding: Theory Building and Qualitative (Re)Analysis. Sociological Methods & Research, 00491241211067508. https://doi.org/10.1177/00491241211067508