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.
Yuan et al. (Wed,) studied this question.