The adapted ICAM China SEL programme is highly successful

A China national evaluation in 2025 shows outstanding results in children’s SEL growth as a result of the China version of the ICAM programme established in primary and junior high schools in 8 provinces since 2021 reaching 60 million children.

Consequently, a proposal in July 2025 for the ICAM China SEL programme to become a national programme for all children in China has been submitted to the Ministry of Education.

ICAM restores the Social and Emotional Wellbeing of CAM so that they can return to learning and are no longer denied their fundamental human right to education

Children Affected by Migration (CAM) are in danger of failure in their new school unless their SEL is restored. CAM may be refugees, asylum seekers, economic or social migrants or those left behind by family moving to another country.

Brain science explains why these unhappy, displaced children become poor learners. Until they feel settled, confident and secure, CAM cannot benefit fully from teaching in or out of school. They become disadvantaged by their circumstances and unable to reach their learning potential.

The following outline of the taken from a UNICEF and the Ministry of Education article about the importance and success of the ICAM programme in China.

“SEL is central to the current transformation of China’s basic education system and improving the quality of education to support students’ holistic development. Numerous studies have shown that social and emotional skills can be taught and learned and lead to positive academic, social, and mental health outcomes that are important for success in school and life.”

Department of Teacher Affairs of the Ministry of Education and UNICEF, recognise that children are facing unprecedented challenges in a globalized and dynamic world, including changes in learning styles, the transition from school to work, new technologies, migration, changing labour markets, and transnational environmental changes.

It is widely agreed in China that schools focusing only on academic instructions cannot prepare children for the fast-changing world. Children should not leave school with academic proficiencies only; they must also demonstrate adequate social and emotional skills to adapt to changes, make healthy decisions that positively affect their lives, and choose to become engaged citizens. The Ministry of Education (MOE) and UNICEF introduced international technical support from the ICAMnet team and initiated the pilot ICAM SEL programme designed by the ICAMnet team and based on the ICAM programme in Guizhou Province, Yunnan Province, Chongqing Municipality, Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region, and Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region

The China ICAM SEL programme, aims to improve the whole school climate through an integrated approach, centring on capacity building of principals and teachers to ensure that children feel safe, respected, confident and happy in schools; that they can acquire knowledge and skills to recognize and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, demonstrate care and concern for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and handle interpersonal situations effectively.

The effective implementation of the ICAM SEL programme in Chinese schools requires a comprehensive change to principals’ leadership, teachers’ professional abilities, teaching practices, school climate, and the application of SEL in the family, amongst various other factors. Thus, a comprehensive theoretical basis and specific operational practice is provided in the ICAM SEL training programmes for the key stakeholders. The 2 Departments of Teacher Affairs of the Ministry of Education and UNICEF, together with the ICAMnet team continuously improve the theoretical basis of the programme and develop effective models and strategies to guide the programme implementation. Applying the extensive resources and materials in the ICAM programme 10 units are available for the training of School Leaders, based on the pilot experience over two programme cycles.

A full evaluation of the programme in Primary Schools and the recent extension to Junior High Schools involving a sample of 6,000 children in 80 schools in 8 provinces shows highly positive gains in all the SEL qualities in the programme.

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