Effects of emotional literacy support assistant (ELSA) training on self-efficacy of educational assistants in working with Children

Abstract

The focus of learning outcomes in education have gradually shifted from an emphasis on academic achievement to more holistic dimensions of child development, one of which is social-emotional competence. Specifically, developing emotional literacy (EL), the ability to handle emotions in a way that empowers oneself and improve the quality of life of oneself and others, has demonstrated emotional, social, and academic benefits. The current study investigates whether the Emotional Literacy Support Assistant (ELSA) training programme, an intervention that equips educational assistants (EAs) with knowledge and skills in supporting students’ EL development, is effective in increasing EAs’ self-efficacies in conducting ELSA work following training. The study also attempts to uncover factors that contribute to their increase in self-efficacies, and areas of improvement to the training programme from EAs’ perspectives that would further contribute to the increase in their self-efficacies. Participants were from an international school organisation consisting of 22 schools in Hong Kong, comprising an experimental group (N= 29) and a control group (N= 14). A one-way ANCOVA revealed that EAs’ self-efficacies showed a greater increase following ELSA training compared to the control group. Thematic analysis on a semi-structured focus group interview with ELSA-trained EAs revealed that mastery experiences, vicarious experiences and social persuasion all contributed to their increase in self-efficacies. ELSA-trained EAs also listed areas of improvement within and beyond the ELSA training curriculum. Implications for ELSA training and future research are discussed.