Learning for Hearts and Minds in Elementary School

Introduction: Skills such as recognizing and managing emotions, developing empathy, building cooperative relationships, solving problems effectively and obtaining communication skills have gained importance in several schools and this has been made possible by Socio-Emotional Learning (SEL). Robust studies in this area in Latin America are lacking, and what happens in the brain and in our general physiology, from trainings related to SEL, needs to be better understood. Objectives: To assess the effects of Learning for Hearts and Minds Training (TACM) on positive and negative affect, empathy and compassion, emotional expression, self-compassion, life satisfaction, sense of community in the classroom, academic goals, school performance, brain activity and heart rate variability in 4th and 5th year elementary school students. Methods: This is a randomized controlled trial in clusters with cross-over, in approximately 600 students. By the end of the first semester, one group of students will receive the TACM and the other will be a waiting control group. In the second semester, the latter will receive the TACM and the former will continue the TACM practices. The groups will be evaluated in 5 moments during the year. A classroom will be randomly assigned to undergo an assessment of brain activity and cardiac variability to assess their ability to regulate emotions. Students, parents and teachers will be drawn for a qualitative interview at the end of the academic semesters about the effects of TACM.