Nowadays there is no doubt that social and emotional skills (SES) are a key
element in human development. Plenty of research and official reports show that
if children are not attaining minimal SES at around six years of age, they are
likely to be at risk in the next stages of their development. Well-developed
SES in children contribute to academic success, improve learning conditions,
are a powerful tool for empowering children for a better future, for a happier
and more productive life, but also they are an irreplaceable tool for
prevention of social exclusion, aggression and bullying, school dropout,
different types of risk behaviours, psychopathology, unemployment,
etc. Deficits in SES lead to poor academic results, may lead to problems with
social adaptation or serious psychopathology, substance abuse problems,
challenges finding employment or run-ins with the law, etc. Supporting SES
development in the early years increases children's chances of success in
school, work, and life. It will have an impact on the children themselves, but
also a great indirect impact on their families, teachers, and society as a
whole. The EU-SELF project aims to be an innovative approach of linking the
knowledge and expertise in the field of SES and the educational practices.
The University Institute of Maia (ISMAI) is a private non-profit Higher Education Institution founded located in Maia - in the metropolitan area of Porto. The university campus occupies an area of 70,000m2 and provides students with excellent infrastructures and leading-edge technological equipment. ISMAI is the 2nd largest private HEI in Portugal. ISMAI has about 4000 students and 400 lecturers. It offers 14 undergraduate degree programmes, 14 master's degree programmes, 2 post-graduate programmes and 2 PhD programmes, divided into 4 departments: Social and Behavioral Sciences, Business Sciences, Physical Education and Sports Sciences, Communication Sciences and Information Technologies. ISMAI is also home to 6 RD&I units.
