Examining International Universal School-based Social Emotional Transfer Through Cultural Humility: A Systematic Review

This systematic review examined how universal school-based social emotional learning (USB SEL) programs move across countries and how cultural humility appears when Western, Educated, Industrialized, Rich, and Democratic (WEIRD)-developed programs are implemented elsewhere. We conducted a secondary review of 424 publications from Cipriano et al.'s meta-analysis of USB SEL with a control group and a minimum intervention dosage (published from 2008 to 2020). We identified 65 international implementation studies, and patterns were asymmetric: 48 were developed in WEIRD countries and implemented in WEIRD countries, 17 were WEIRD to non-WEIRD, and none originated in non-WEIRD countries. Five cultural-humility attributes across program planning, implementation, and evaluation were coded with a binary scheme for the 17 WEIRD to non-WEIRD studies. Programs were mainly teacher-led, concentrated in elementary/lower-secondary grades; most studies used mostly quasi-experimental designs and generally showed positive social-emotional and behavioral outcomes. Cultural humility was common in planning (openness through learning about local challenges) but limited during implementation and evaluation (rare power-sharing, reciprocal learning, community-facing dissemination, or discussion of how culture and measurement affect program delivery and evaluation). Directions for future research and practice based on study characteristics and cultural humility coding are outlined.