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HDC Camp Inspires Filipino Youth Leaders to Lead with Dignity

One parent could hardly contain her amazement: “My second grader can’t stop talking about what he learned at the camp,” she said with a smile. “He came home explaining what human dignity means, what powers are, and even told us we should elect leaders with integrity.”

This was just one of the many joyful stories from the I Am SAC: Young Leaders Camp, held on September 13–14, 2025, at Hotel Kinaray-a in San Jose, Antique, Philippines. Over 80 students from St. Anthony’s College Grade School, including Supreme Elementary Learner Government officers and homeroom officers, spent two days filled with laughter, discovery, and inspiration. What began as a weekend activity quickly became an unforgettable experience that shaped how the children see themselves and the world around them.

The camp was based on lessons from the Human Dignity Curriculum (HDC), an innovative K–12 education program that helps children discover that dignity is universal, intrinsic, and inalienable. Each session invited the participants not only to learn but to experience the lessons through lively talks, games, and reflections that made big ideas accessible to young hearts and minds.

When they learned about human dignity, the children eagerly shared moments when they felt respected and when they did not. The hierarchy of beings’ lesson sparked curiosity as they realized that while animals and plants have powers, only human beings have the powers to think and choose. During the session on freedom for excellence, the room grew quiet. “So freedom isn’t just doing what I want?” one student asked softly, realizing that true freedom means choosing what is good. They also discovered the “Spider-Man principle” that with great power comes great responsibility, reminding them that their unique human powers must always be used to do what is right.

The room burst with energy during the session on creativity, as the children shared imaginative ideas alongside cultural presentations in the form of songs, dances, and short skits. Their pride and excitement filled the hall, showing that creativity can be a way not only to celebrate culture but also to dream of solutions for the challenges in their communities. In the lesson on courage, students reflected on fears they had faced, such as standing up for a classmate or speaking in front of others, and discovered that resilience makes them stronger. Finally, in the session on heroes, they named not only famous figures but also their parents, teachers, and friends who inspire them by living a life of integrity and service.

For the students, the lessons did more than teach; they inspired a sense of confidence and purpose. “I realized that being a leader is not just about having a title,” one student shared. “It’s about serving others.”

One of the most moving activities was the Dear You letter, where parents or guardians wrote heartfelt notes telling their children why they are valuable and loved. Tears flowed as the children read the letters, many for the first time hearing such words spoken to them. One student whispered, “I didn’t expect to receive this letter. I’ll tell my parents ‘I love you’ more often.” Parents later expressed their gratitude for the chance to affirm their children in such a tender and unforgettable way.

The sweetness of the camp was matched only by the strength of its community. Parents, teachers, and school leaders came together to support the children, and their efforts have sparked a ripple effect. Already, other schools are asking to host similar activities, and a district-wide HDC day camp is being planned to reach hundreds more youth.

The Young Leaders Camp is proof of what happens when families, educators, and organizations unite to invest in young leaders. With the Human Dignity Curriculum as their guide, children are not only learning about human dignity but also understanding how to live the values of the curriculum, including joy, resilience, and courage.

HDC Makes Students “That Much Happier”

Coming from a background in mental health counseling, Mercedes Flores-Nava knew that she wanted to help foster positive development in children. When she heard about the Human Dignity Curriculum, she hoped it would help her students learn and grow.

In contrast to other curriculums focusing on anti-bullying or kindness, the HDC lessons were different. The curriculum topics address treating persons as subjects and not objects, valuing human beings for their intrinsic worth, and using the powers to think and to choose what is excellent. The HDC message is that each student, regardless of background, has inherent worth and that we are all equal in human dignity.

Building on her career experience, Mercedes wanted to find different ways to bring these topics to her students and to strengthen the value they placed in themselves. In her previous role at the counseling center, she focused on wellbeing and self-image, two aspects deeply embedded in the HDC. After Mercedes and her team brought the HDC to their community, it was not long before they started seeing positive results in the students. “It really changes the way they view themselves and others.”

The HDC was soon adopted by five different schools in her community from pre-K through grade eight. Mercedes witnessed the students becoming more confident in expressing themselves and participating in the different activities in the lesson plans, particularly in the skits and scenarios in the lessons on friendship and solidarity. Mercedes even noticed the drawings of her students in counseling began to change – from more solitary and somber scenes to images depicting friends having fun together, reflecting the ideas in the curriculum about how true friends act.

Mercedes shared that a striking outcome of implementing the HDC is noticing how much more the students like to communicate their emotions now, through the role playing scenarios offered in the lessons. Her fifth-grade students routinely ask, “can we act it out?”

For Mercedes, the biggest accomplishment and the most rewarding aspect of bringing the HDC to her community is seeing the impact on the students. When students learn through the curriculum that they have intrinsic and inalienable value, no matter their circumstances, and that they have the power to choose what is excellent, “they are that much happier,” Mercedes said. “Students behave differently when they are able to recognize their worth.”

In the year to come, Mercedes plans to bring the message of human dignity to even more students in her school district. Mercedes’ story reminds us that students thrive when they learn about human dignity.

Read more about the impacts of the Human Dignity Curriculum here!

Waves of Summer Success!

New York City — From June 24-26th, 2025, educators, researchers and advocates from around the world came together for the first-ever Human Dignity Curriculum Seminar. Participants braved a heat wave in Manhattan, perspiring through sweltering subway rides in order to meet each day and share inspiring stories, emerging research, and a vision for human dignity education.

The seminar featured many encouraging testimonials on how the HDC is growing and transforming students’ lives. Representatives from the Philippines shared about the HDC’s remarkable growth in their country. With its most recent expansion, the HDC now reaches over 800 public and private schools and upwards of 200,000 Filipino students.

Seminar attendees also heard from US public high school principal, Dr. LaTisha Williams and high school teacher, Kerra Downing, on the impact of the Human Dignity Curriculum in their schools in Kansas. “These students came to us with tons of walls built up about education and about themselves, but with the Human Dignity Curriculum, they are learning to not only respect others, but also to have respect for themselves,” said Dr. LaTisha Williams.

School counselors from Orange County, California shared about how they are using the Human Dignity Curriculum in their work with students:

Using a human dignity framework, we focused on affirming the client’s intrinsic worth and treating him with unconditional respect—regardless of his diagnosis or challenges. As a result of this therapeutic work rooted in human dignity, the client experienced a notable transformation. He reported feeling more confident, excited to attend school, and began initiating conversations with peers. He shared that he now feels a sense of belonging and recognizes his contributions to the school community as valuable.

Based on the success of the integration of the Human Dignity Curriculum in their counseling programs at a number of schools, one counselor noted that they hope to expand the work in schools throughout California and continue providing training to counselors, staff, teachers, and parents.

Researchers from the University of Florida and St. Mary’s University in Halifax, Canada, also joined the seminar, presenting their findings on the Human Dignity Curriculum, published in the first formal evaluation of the HDC in Frontiers. Dr. Mark Pacheco, Assistant Professor in the School of Teaching & Learning at the University of Florida’s College of Education, gave a powerful presentation entitled “Dignity and Discourses: How Do Students View Human Dignity?”

In his presentation, Dr. Pacheco discussed his research on human dignity, including student responses to two key questions: What is human dignity? And how do their perspectives on human dignity shape their experiences? Dr. Pacheco shared that by discussing these important concepts in the classroom, the abstract is made concrete, as the Human Dignity Curriculum helps students shape their sense of agency and approach others with curiosity and humility.

Two teachers from Canada gave presentations on their experience in teaching the curriculum, with one teacher, Luke Trainor, remarking that: “You can see the changes in the classroom culture after the HDC lessons. Students grow in tolerance and respect for one another because they understand the deepest level of who they are – a person with human dignity – and so they can extend that respect to others.” Another educator with experience teaching in public school settings, added: “every kid needs this.” The exuberance and joy in the room throughout the three days of the seminar was palpable. “You could really sense the commitment during these days together”, said one participant, as she worked on her implementation plan to bring the HDC to her local board of education.

The Human Dignity Curriculum affirms and transforms students, however, without the commitment and dedication of passionate educators in public and private schools, our work would not be possible. We are deeply grateful to the many teachers, researchers, and education advocates who took the time out of their busy schedules to come together to learn and share about the Human Dignity Curriculum. We look forward to HDC Seminar 2026!

Learn more about HDC here.

Human Dignity Curriculum Launches in Indonesia

Bandung, Indonesia — From July 10-11, 2025, the city of Bandung witnessed a milestone moment for youth education and empowerment, as the Human Dignity Curriculum (HDC) launched in three new schools across the city.

This year, more than 1,400 students will learn about the inherent worth of every human person, the unique human capacity to choose freedom for excellence and the power of human creativity in their daily lives, through the Human Dignity Curriculum (HDC) lessons at school. At Sekolah Rajawali, a school where 233 K-12 students will soon be taught the HDC in their classrooms, principal Ocha Muchtar shared her heartfelt support, saying that “The goals of the HDC fit perfectly with the goals of our school.”

Another school principal, Sony Dany, also expressed their community’s excitement with regards to the curriculum and its implementation: “We welcome the Human Dignity Curriculum in our school. We believe that it will help our students have a deeper understanding of their worth and will help them grow in character and be role models to their peers.”

The launch of the Human Dignity Curriculum in Bandung, Indonesia, was made possible thanks to the dedication of partners at Initiatives of Change Indonesia. One school leader, Ibrahim Fawwaz, reflected on the profound impact of the HDC teacher training, led by Lord Leomer Pomperada, Director for HDC Expansion: “We learned a lot from today’s HDC teacher training… I believe it’s important for our students to learn that only human beings have the power to think and choose.”

Indonesia now joins a growing number of countries around the world that have adopted the Human Dignity Curriculum, recognizing that education is not only about academic grades but starts with acknowledging the value of every person. In a world where many young people struggle with issues of identity, self-worth, and peer pressure, the HDC reminds them that their dignity is intrinsic — it does not depend on success, popularity, or performance; it cannot be given to them or taken away from them.

For Initiatives of Change Indonesia, this launch signals the start of a deeper commitment to forming young leaders who can become bridges of trust in their families, schools, and communities.

“We are deeply inspired by the Human Dignity Curriculum and what it can bring to our schools,” shared Huda, National Coordinator of Initiatives of Change Indonesia. “The teachers we spoke to were genuinely excited. This shows that we really need to refocus on character and values education if we want to prepare our young people for the future. This partnership will help us raise a generation that knows their worth and lives it out every day.”

With each new school that adopts the Human Dignity Curriculum, teachers, students, and parents alike become co-educators in building a culture that respects and upholds the dignity of every person. This shared effort has the power to shape a new generation that knows who they are and what they are capable of becoming. “We hope that the example of these three schools will become the start of a growing movement here in Indonesia,” said Lord Leomer Pomperada. “We’re excited to see how these ideas will transform Indonesian students, their families, and their communities for the better. This is only the beginning, and the future looks bright.”

Human Dignity Curriculum Grows from the Grassroots

The Human Dignity Curriculum is covering major ground in the Philippines from the local to national level. With its most recent expansion in the Province of Masbate, the HDC is being adopted at an impressively quick rate.

Director of the Human Dignity Curriculum Expansion in the Philippines, Lord Leomer Pomperada, said that, “[we’re excited to witness the leadership of Masbate Province in advancing the Human Dignity Curriculum in Luzon. The Department of Education officials from both Masbate Province and Masbate City have shown full support and commitment to bringing the HDC to all schools and ensuring its long-term sustainability.” The HDC has had a remarkable record of success in the country, with the HDC now reaching over 800 public and private schools and upwards of 200,000 students.

“I stand with the leaders of Masbate in their vision to form learners of strong character and leadership, and I hope this bold step will inspire other provinces to follow suit,” Pomperada said. Surely the trend of Province-wide adoptions of the HDC will continue, as more and more teachers are trained at the neighborhood level in the subjects of human dignity and the message that “no one, and no action, can take away a person’s inherent dignity,” fifth-grade teacher Honey Rose Sumugat said. Besides the institutionalization of the HDC in Masbate, before this, the Province of Antique, Philippines, adopted a provincial ordinance institutionalizing the HDC in all public and private schools.

Planting small seeds in local communities, the HDC is bringing together families, schools, and government leaders committed to the flourishing of young people through education. From pilot to provincial programs in the Philippines, St. Lucia, Kenya, and Mexico, the HDC is proving human dignity education is needed for all children and adolescents from every background around the world. With the possibility to nationalize the implementation of the HDC in countries like Croatia, the HDC has the power to transform lives in countless communities and countries, positively impacting the lives of hundreds of thousands of students.

Human Dignity Curriculum Expands in Masbate, Philippines

We are incredibly excited to share that the Philippine Province of Masbate has officially announced the institutionalization of the World Youth Alliance’s Human Dignity Curriculum (HDC) starting in academic school year 2025–26.

In accordance with the Masbate Provincial Information Office, the Province of Masbate, an island municipality located in the Philippines, is the second province to adopt the HDC ordinance in the country, and the first in Luzon. The HDC will now be able to reach upwards of over 800 public and private schools and 200,000 students.

Lord Leomer Pomperada, Director of the Human Dignity Curriculum Expansion in the Philippines, said “I’m deeply inspired by the dedication of Masbate’s leaders in pushing for the passage of the HDC ordinance. This is a landmark piece of legislation—one that lays a solid foundation for the future of Masbate by shaping young minds with a clear understanding of human dignity. I stand with the leaders of Masbate in their vision to form learners of strong character and leadership, and I hope this bold step will inspire other provinces to follow suit.”

Launched in 2016, the Human Dignity Curriculum is a school-based program designed to educate students on human dignity, freedom, solidarity, and human rights. According to the 2015 Declaration on Health and Education, “[q]uality education must be available to all on an equal basis and should flow from an authentic understanding of the human person, and foster respect for self and others in solidarity.” Alongside local partners, parents, and educators, the HDC works to ensure transparency and collaboration in adapting its content to meet local needs, and we are seeing the growing successes across the Philippines.

Since successful implementation of the curriculum in the Philippine towns of Sibalom, San Jose de Buenavista, Sebaste, and Libertad, Masbateños are now following suit. Pomperada met with officials from the Department of Education Schools Division of Masbate City and Masbate Province in January 27, 2025, where the launch of the HDC was discussed for the next academic year to “shape young minds of Masbateños through values-based education rooted in human dignity. Pomperada said, “We’re excited to witness the leadership of Masbate Province in advancing the Human Dignity Curriculum in Luzon. The Department of Education officials from both Masbate Province and Masbate City have shown full support and commitment to bringing the HDC to all schools and ensuring its long-term sustainability.”

With great strides being made in the Philippines, the World Youth Alliance is incredibly hopeful about the positive outcomes we are seeing not only in that country, but in countless others. We will continue to be proactive and advocate for educating children on values of the whole person—human dignity, self-identity, solidarity, and friendship.

If you would like to learn more about the research and studies conducted on the HDC, please contact hdc@wya.net.

Human Dignity Curriculum Set to Launch Across Province

The province of Antique in the Philippines is set to use the Human Dignity Curriculum as part of their provincewide Human Dignity Education Program (HDEP) for 2025-2026.

Over 500 schools and over a hundred thousand students across the Province will now have the opportunity to learn about human dignity, freedom, solidarity, and human rights.

Learn more about the curriculum

In March 2024, Antique, Philippines, adopted a provincial ordinance institutionalizing the Human Dignity Curriculum in all public and private schools. The provincial ordinance was sponsored by Antique Board Member Dr. Mayella Mae Plameras-Ladislao and signed into law by Antique Governor Rhodora J. Cadiao.

Sta. Rita Academy—a private K-6 Catholic school in the town of Sibalom—was the first school in Antique to pilot the Human Dignity Curriculum. Since then, the curriculum has also been piloted in schools in San Jose de Buenavista, Sebaste, and Libertad with great success.

With a focus on self-worth, respect, and positive life choices, the program has shown great results in the pilot schools. Parents and educators are seeing real behavioral changes in HDC students. They’ve reported that their kids have become more humble, obedient, considerate towards siblings, and respectful.

“I now begin to see some changes in the attitude of the students and how they treat one another and other people because of the Human Dignity Curriculum. They are able to readily accept failures, to have a more positive attitude, to try their best to be better, and to nurture hope in their heart,” says one teacher who piloted the program.

We are happy and proud to see the HDC taking off in the Philippines with this new province-wide implementation. As WYA celebrates this exciting milestone, we want to thank all the local partners, parents, educators, religious leaders, and community leaders who’ve helped bring the Human Dignity Curriculum to Antique Province. Because of their hard work and sacrifices, the lives of thousands of children will be transformed through this curriculum.

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Human Dignity Curriculum: Teachers’ Comfort, Commitment, and Perceived Support Teaching New Socioemotional Learning

Moira A. Law^*^†

Department of Psychology, Saint Mary’s University, Halifax, NS, Canada

Globally, young people are experiencing unprecedented levels of socio-emotional loneliness, stress, and uncertainty. Formulating insight into their own and others’ experiences and behaviors is especially important during unsettling times and can be facilitated with socioemotional learning (SEL) curriculums. When implementing SEL programs, their success heavily depends upon teachers’ levels of commitment and comfort with the curriculum, as well as their perceived support from the administration; this is important and rarely studied. The current phenomenological qualitative study examined teachers’ experience during the early implementation of a new SEL, the Human Dignity Curriculum, (HDC) with middle school students in two small schools in Canada and the United States of America. Semi-structured interviews, using a four-question protocol developed for this study, were conducted with teachers who had completed teaching a 10-week module, as well as both school administrators. Written informed consent was obtained from each volunteer interviewee. Participants were asked, (1) Tell me about your experience while teaching HDC; (2) what was your commitment level to teaching HDC? (3) What was your comfort level with teaching HDC? (4) Did you feel supported by your administration when preparing and teaching HDC? Inductive thematic analysis identified five themes indicating HDC was a (1) user-friendly, (2) high value curriculum; (3) teachers felt supported teaching it; and a (4) shared language, (5) and shared teacher-student experience evolved when teaching HDC. Future research to replicate this initial evaluation of teachers’ experience and exploration of HDC’s potential impacts on youths’ well-being and related behavioral outcomes appears warranted.

Introduction

“I could see that there’s a change in the way that people view each other and treat each other. This program centers it back to we are all the same, we all struggle, we all go through things.”

-Teacher Interviewee, May 2023

Youth are distressed (Owais et al., 2022; Van Meter et al., 2023) due to a variety of reasons (Keles et al., 2020; Paul et al., 2022). Effective preventative measures for bolstering youth well-being include socioemotional learning (SEL) programs delivered in schools (Cavioni et al., 2020; Gueldner et al., 2020; Ağırkan and Ergene, 2022; Durlak et al., 2022). When implementing new curriculums, successful implementation of the program depends heavily upon teachers’ commitment to the curriculum (Rahman et al., 2019; Muliyah and Aminatun, 2020), their level of comfort with it (Ramirez et al., 2018; Margot and Kettler, 2019; Lee and Perret, 2022), as well as their perceived support from their school administration (Brackett et al., 2012). Despite the recognized importance of teachers’ expectations and beliefs about SEL, few studies examine teachers’ early implementation experience when adopting these programs (Schiepe-Tiska et al., 2021).

Socio-emotional learning curriculums

Social emotional learning occurs when individuals learn how to integrate their emotions, attitudes, and thinking into healthy identities and behaviors that support their activities of daily living and life goals (Zins, 2004). SEL curriculums have been developed to help youth gain insight into themselves and others’ behaviors (Corcoran et al., 2018), improve interpersonal skills (Durlak et al., 2022), develop social networks (Llamas-Díaz et al., 2022; Wigelsworth et al., 2022), and generate a sense of belonging (Parr et al., 2020), self-esteem (Harris and Orth, 2020), and self-efficacy (Pannebakker et al., 2019). SEL can help students socially and emotionally by giving participants specific language and shared experiences to foster self-expression (Sun et al., 2022). These skills can further serve as protective factors for future mental health outcomes, as well as reducing present struggles with aggression, emotional distress, and internalizing/externalizing problems (Portnow et al., 2018; Ağırkan and Ergene, 2022; LaBelle, 2023). As Bouffard writes in their recent article in The Learning Professional “… the need for SEL is greater than ever” (Bouffard, 2021).

Evaluation of SEL programs

Successful implementation of new SEL programs is important (Oberle et al., 2020; Akelaitis and Janiunaite, 2023). For instance, teachers may struggle with SEL programs that are rigid and inflexible and cannot be tailored to their individual classroom needs (Martínez, 2016), or teachers may experience little emotional or pragmatic support from school administration when incorporating SEL in their classroom (Durlak and DuPre, 2008). Sometimes there can be a poor fit between the SEL and the school’s mission statement/goals, or limited training for teachers before teaching the curriculum (Moldovan, 2020; McCoy and Hanno, 2023; Sooknanan, 2023). There are a variety of barriers that can arise during implementation of a new curriculum in school settings and teachers’ voices are essential in this process (Diaz-Larenas et al., 2015; Martínez, 2016; Solomon, 2016; Venné, 2022). Creating conditions that support teachers’ during the implementation of SEL programs and practices has been recognized as important (Lawson et al., 2019) and studies that report on early implementation of new SEL curriculums should be normative.

The Human Dignity Curriculum

Launched in 2017, the Human Dignity Curriculum (HDC), was developed by a team of researchers, philosophers, and educators focused on developing a curriculum that assists in the personal development of youth. The curriculum was piloted in a variety of school settings across the United States of America, Mexico, Saint Lucia, and the Philippines with full implementation in various classroom settings in Africa, Europe, Latin America, and the Middle East (Human Dignity Curriculum, 2017). Based on the key premise that all human beings share a dignity that is intrinsic, inalienable, and unconditional, students are introduced to challenging, but accessible philosophical and anthropological ideas, i.e., action follows being, humans are subjects and not objects, capacity to choose enables excellence (Etinson, 2020; Lindwall and Lohne, 2021). In HDC, students engage in a variety of active learning strategies, i.e., theater skits, to explore, understand, and express their personal understanding of concepts such as responsibility, honesty, and creativity, in their daily lives. This innovative curriculum helps students to understand their human dignity and the dignity of others are foundational components to their personal identity as they develop their own inclusive worldview (Lansdown, 2020). This curriculum has never been formally evaluated.

The purpose of the current study is to understand the experience of school administrators and teachers implementing the Human Dignity Curriculum in small school settings in North America. Teachers’ comfort, commitment, and perceived support during the early implementation of this new socioemotional learning (SEL) curriculum was explored.

Study design and data collection

This study used an explorative qualitative research design using one-on-one interviews to ascertain the experience of school administrators and teachers teaching the Human Dignity Curriculum for the first time. The methodological orientation that guided data collection was a phenomenological perspective (Patton, 2008) seeking to understand the participants’ experience and insight into teaching a new socio-emotional learning curriculum (Rahman et al., 2019). The data was collected during seven face-to-face interviews, which took place between March 1st and June 13th, 2023. Interviews were held in-person, in a private room, at the school where the interviewees worked (n = 6). One interview was conducted online, on camera, using Zoom.

Interviews were selected for data collection as they typically provide detailed, insightful, information, allowing for time and privacy necessary to increase richness and depth of recall. It also allows participants to speak more openly without fear of reprisal from colleagues, students, or administration (Krueger, 2014). The interview was guided by four main questions informed by similar research (Ee and Cheng, 2013; Martínez, 2016): (1) Tell me about your experience while teaching HDC; (2) What was your commitment level to teaching HDC? (3) What was your comfort level with teaching HDC? (4) Did you feel supported by your administration when preparing and teaching HDC?

The interview guide was reviewed to check on the clarity of wording and sequencing of questions. Interviews were conducted by one trained research assistant with an estimated 120 h of interview experience. Interviews lasted approximately five to twenty-eight minutes, with an average interview length of sixteen minutes. Demographic data of interviewees was culled from the initial interview question.

Ethics approval and consent to participate

Ethics approval was given by Saint Mary’s University Research Ethics Board (REB file#24–070). School administrators (n = 2) and all teachers (n = 5) teaching HDC in grades 6–8 during the academic 2022–2023 school year were invited to participate in these interviews; they received a study information document and a paper consent form to assist in their decision. Participants were informed they could opt out of the study at any time, or skip interview questions, without consequences. Participants did not receive any remuneration for their time spent participating in the interview. Confidentiality was assured by having all personal identifiers removed from transcriptions of interviews. Gendered language used during the interviews was neutralized, i.e., she replaced with they, to further protect the identity of participants in these small schools. Data coders had no contact with the school study sites during data collection and unique codes, e.g., C.1, instead of names were used in transcripts. Transcripts have been saved on password-protected data sticks housed in locked filing cabinets in locked offices.

Data analysis

All interviews were audio-recorded and transcribed verbatim. Transcription was completed by professional service providers. Identifying information was removed after the transcription process. The interview transcripts were independently reviewed and verified for accuracy by the research assistant that conducted all interviews. Data were analyzed using inductive thematic analysis (Braun and Clarke, 2006). Two research team members independently familiarized themselves with all the interview transcripts, generated initial codes, and searched for themes. Themes were reviewed, modified, and named. Themes were established in consultation with a third coder.

Results

“The high bar for behavior comes with teaching children what it means to be a human being, what it means to be valuable, what it means to not always thinking that the world revolves around you … [HDC] just teaches that in a very beautiful way, in a way that the children love to listen to. It’s not just a lecture, it’s the little activities that go with it. They get it. The role playing that I’ve seen them do, beautiful. Just great.”

-School Administrator, May 2023

Participant and site characteristics

Two small schools (<100) were invited to participate in this first formal evaluation of HDC (LaDuke et al., 2023). The American site was characterized as “[a place] for students who are experiencing learning struggles or behavioral problems … they are sent here to see if they can be more successful in a smaller environment.” [A.2] with small class sizes typically seven or fewer; the majority (86%) of students were male, with 100% of students having learning and/or behavioral struggles.

The small, private, faith-based, Canadian school also had fewer than 100 students which “often attracts students who have experienced adversity or struggles in other school settings.” Class size ranged from 17 to 21 students, with an even blend of male (45%) and female (55%) students. It was estimated by school administration that 40% of students in these grades have learning and/or behavioral struggles.

Seven participants (females = 3 and males = 4) with an estimated cumulative 50+ years of teaching experience participated in this study. The two school administrators (n = 2) held Bachelor of Education degrees, and all teachers (n = 5) had undergraduate degrees, with three possessing special education training. Teachers held a broad range of teaching experience ranging from 1 to 27 years. Both administrators and most teachers (n = 4) had taught a wide variety of subjects, i.e., math, music, at multiple grade levels ranging from K to 12 in both private and public-school settings. Administrators had 30+ years of cumulative experience in school administration.

Themes

Five themes were identified in the data: (1) user-friendly curriculum, (2) high value curriculum, (3) teachers felt supported during implementation, (4) shared language, and (5) shared teacher-student experience evolved as HDC was taught.

User-friendly curriculum

All the teachers (n = 5) interviewed stated they experienced a high level of comfort teaching HDC. Administrators (n = 2) agreed. “It wasn’t complicated. They’re able to just take it and implement it. I think that’s great…” [A.3] The curriculum was perceived to be focused, comprehensive, flexible, and efficient with lesson plans that contain clear directions, prompts, and engaging activities. Teachers commented that HDC was “really simple to learn, to teach, to grasp.” [C.3], “very straightforward” [A.1, C.3], “user friendly” [A.1, C.4] with “step by step direction.” [A.2] One teacher explained, “Honestly, I was very comfortable with it … the way it’s paced … even from the first lesson … anybody could teach it…” [A.2].

Flexibility in lesson plans and the variety of active learning exercises were consistently mentioned; “[I] was very impressed with the different activities that came up with each session and loved it.,” [C.2] and the “different ways to present the information … I really like that freedom…” [A.1] One administrator corroborated teachers’ experience, stating “The teachers were able to be creative, add in pieces they thought would be more relatable … they could take the activities right off the paper and implement it … it’s been successful in our building.” [A.3].

Teachers sometimes experience anxiety specific to curriculum content they may perceive as daunting, i.e., mathematical concepts (Ramirez et al., 2018). A similar dynamic may also have been present when tasked with teaching abstract constructs, i.e., dignity, however this did not appear to be the case. One teacher stated, “There wasn’t anything that I felt like I wasn’t prepared to talk about or answer questions if asked…” [C.1] A similar sentiment by A.1, “I could leave the directions with the sub, and they would be followed. It’s that simple that someone could come in and be able to read and like, “Okay, this is what I have to do.” I really enjoyed that…”

Concerns regarding the amount of content in each lesson was raised. One teacher commented “I find it’s all exciting, all good, but sometimes it can just feel like a lot.” [C.3] one of the administrators also noted, “Sometimes [the teachers] would not get to certain things that were on the timeline ….” [A.3].

High value curriculum

Successful implementation of curriculum heavily depends on the attitudes of the educators teaching the material (Martínez, 2016; Kim and Hong, 2019). Teachers were asked how they felt about HDC before they began teaching and after completing a 10-week HDC module in their classroom.

Initial reaction to HDC

All teachers interviewed (n = 5) recalled feeling positive about HDC before teaching it. “I think from the very start, everyone was very impressed and excited…” [C.3] For instance, C.4 recalled “I thought it was a good initiative.” and many teachers expressed similar sentiments. “I was feeling fairly committed [before I began], I was familiar enough with the curriculum to see its value and its importance … I was excited.” [C.1] Likewise, “My first impression of HDC was it was a really exciting curriculum. I like the way it uses language in an intentional way … [I was] happy to try it and see how it worked.” [C.3] Another teacher said, “I was comfortable with it. A little apprehensive before we got it in our hands. But once I got it, it’s just figuring out how I wanted to do it and present the information…” [A.1].

Both administrators held strong positive attitudes toward HDC before implementing it in their schools. “I loved the idea of it, and I knew it fit right.” [C.2] and “… I felt like this was going to be a good program, so it was important for us, to pick those teachers that we knew were going to be energetic about it and really wanted to teach it and put their all into it…” [A.3].

Post-program delivery attitudes

After HDC was taught, administrators were still very positive stating they “absolutely love it” [C.2] and “… in full support of them doing it next year. ‘[A.3] and had already recommended HDC to other schools and community groups [A.3, C.2]. Teachers (n = 5) stated teaching HDC “was really positive [C.3] … super easy to do … simple compared to how much time it takes [C.4] … worth it.” [C.4, C.1]. “I would recommend this to everyone … hopefully, we keep using it…” [A.1] “I think it’s a great program … it’s valuable … it’s well worth it for kids, for teachers, for everyone to be adopting this language ….” [C.3]. When asked if they would recommend HDC to other teachers all teachers said “yes” (n = 5).

Teachers felt supported during implementation

All teachers reported feeling supported by their principals as they taught HDC (n = 5). This support was noted in a threefold manner. Firstly, one teacher explained, the administrators “Actually, they did a lot by not doing a lot, if that makes sense. Just their positivity and their willingness to accept whatever we were doing…” [A.2] Another teacher said, “We would tell them things that we were doing, and they’d get excited. They trusted us, and they knew we would use it in a way that would be beneficial to the children. So, yeah, support, 100%…” [A.1] Secondly, administrators actively supported teachers during HDC lessons. For instance, the administrator was present and said, “Go on, take more time. I can see that they are excited about what’s going on ….” [C.2] Another teacher said, “My principal on more than one occasion, asked “Oh, can I say something?” and wanted to define something or highlight something … it gets you excited … HDC elicits that type of response…” [C.3] Thirdly, school administrators supported teachers by reinforcing HDC topics when interacting with students outside the classroom. For example, “Our [administrator] will even bring it [HDC] up …, “Oh, [your teacher] has been telling me what you guys have been doing…” [A.2] Support from the curriculum provider [C.1, A.1, C.4] and the school district [A.2] was also noted.

Shared language evolved

When asked about their experience teaching HDC, teachers reflected on how this curriculum has facilitated communication with their students. They noticed a common lexicon emerging, “I feel like there is increased understanding because of HDC, we are now all speaking the same language … they are understanding me clearly.” [C.3] Teachers repeatedly (n = 5) reported the language introduced in HDC was useful for addressing positive and negative student behaviors. “The curriculum’s been very useful … like when I say, “You’re not really treating that person with dignity.” students know exactly what you mean, instead of, “Oh, you are bullying them, or you are being mean to them.” which can mean so many things.” [C.4] Another teacher, also indicated the value of HDC language when disciplining students “I bring kids in the hallway and I talk with them and say, “Was that an excellent choice?.” [C.3, C.2] The language of HDC was also helpful for affirming positive behaviors, “You just made them feel like an amazing human being by what you did.,” [C.1] and helping students envision prosocial behaviors, “Is this how friends act?” [C.3].

Shared teacher-student experience evolved

Many teachers shared how they were personally benefiting from teaching HDC. “I enjoyed teaching it because I could relate to it just as much as the students. I got to think about these things in a new way. I think the students took away a lot of this, and myself.” [C.4] Another teacher noticed similar changes in their word choice, “I guess I can hear it in my own language … it seems to be something that permeates the students and myself…,” [C.3] as another teacher admitted, “I think I’ve changed [from teaching HDC]…” [A.1].

Teachers also noted that teaching the curriculum necessitated self-reflection, honesty, and authenticity, telling students “You get to learn more about yourself as a person and myself as well. This is going to open us both up. We’re going to learn things about each other … and do not think these are something that just young people do, no…” [A.2].

Teachers noted that once the language of HDC was understood and assimilated it permeated more than the daily lesson, “It [HDC] seems to permeate all of our discussions. It’s something that we have… and it can exist in any discussion or any topic that we talk about…” [C.3] Another teacher also referred specifically to the discussions, stating, “the discussions, actually, were really some of my favorite ….” [A.1].

Discussion

“I think just bringing it all back to the respect piece, that everybody deserves respect no matter who they are, no matter where that they’re at, and what station they are in life.”

-School Administrator, 2023

All administrators and teachers interviewed (n = 7) conveyed support for the Human Dignity Curriculum (HDC) before and after adopting the curriculum. They endorsed HDC characterizing it as “straightforward,” [A.1, C.3] “simple to learn and to teach and to grasp,” [C.3] “easy to implement,” [C.2] with well organized, teacher-friendly lesson plans that contain clear directions, prompts, and highly engaging activities. Teachers [C.1, A.2, C.4, A.1] repeatedly noted the flexibility in lesson plans that allowed for inclusion of resources they were more familiar with from previous teaching and the freedom to choose active learning exercises best suited for their students. This is important as previous research on SELs have identified rigidity of curriculum to be a common barrier to effective program implementation (Moldovan, 2020; Oberle et al., 2020). Teachers’ initial attitudes toward the Human Dignity Curriculum were positive. The receptivity of teachers delivering programs is important (Lendrum et al., 2016) and likely contributed to the successful implementation of HDC (Martínez, 2016).

Despite the widespread approval for HDC throughout the interviews, the feedback from one teacher warrants further exploration in future evaluations/studies. This teacher [C.3] repeatedly stated they “wish we had more time” and often made decisions to “scratch that” when engaging daily lesson plans. A school administrator [A.3] confirmed teachers in their school were not always reaching intended milestones that could reflect the flexibility inherent in the curriculum, however, it could also indicate there is too much content in some lessons. If left unchecked, educators consistently dropping material from lessons could potentially compromise the integrity of the HDC program. Degradation of excellent programs is not uncommon and needs to be carefully guarded against with diligent maintenance of a program once implemented (Chen, 2005). The curriculum provider may want to consider developing an implement, i.e., checkboxes on lesson plans, that would allow teachers, administrators, and evaluators to track material engaged to inform future revisions of HDC. This modification would also allow for a more accurate assessment of the program “dosage” being delivered (Durlak and DuPre, 2008; Reynolds et al., 2011; Kuhn and Marvin, 2016). Future studies investigating HDC might also consider measuring “multiform dosage” that include incorporating non-lesson-based strategies to incorporate SEL materials in the school day such as modeling desired behavioral outcomes during routine interactions with students, incorporating HDC material in other non-SEL classes/lessons, i.e., literature studies, and integrating SEL content into students’ interactions throughout the day (Devlin et al., 2023; Lee et al., 2023). These efforts would also contribute to a wider school-based implementation desired by teachers and administrators interviewed. [C.2, A.3, C.1, C.3].

Feedback during interviews indicated teachers felt highly supported by both administrators and the curriculum providers. Again, this is indicative of a successful implementation of program (Sooknanan, 2023) and potential positive outcomes for students (Akelaitis and Janiunaite, 2023). Data from the teacher interviews identified three distinct ways administrators supported the implementation of HDC; by (1) championing their efforts in “doing nothing,” (2) confirming teachers’ efforts when encountering students in hallways/schoolwide assemblies, and (3) dropping into classrooms when HDC was being taught. All three of these types of support reported by the teachers have been cited in the literature as part of effective administration practice (Grissom et al., 2021; Stronge and Xu, 2021).

The Human Dignity Curriculum demonstrated a “strong fit” with two small schools in North America, one public school servicing at-risk youth and a private school with a faith-based directive. The fact HDC was well received, successfully implemented, and enjoyed by staff in both settings increases the generalizability of the current study’s findings. HDC works “very well” [A.3] with students struggling with behavioral/learning difficulties, as well as those who do not share those difficulties. Future evaluations of HDC should consider including other types of school and community settings (Hurd and Deutsch, 2017; Chu and DeArmond, 2021).

Limitations and strengths

The sample in this study is small and idiosyncratic (n = 7); therefore, the generalizability of the current study’s findings to similar or dissimilar schools is unknown. Further, due to the limited number of interviews conducted it is possible code saturation was not achieved (Hennink et al., 2019) thereby warranting more investigation. It should also be noted that one of the school administrators chose teachers they “knew were going to be energetic about it and really wanted to teach it” [A.3] thus it is unknown if similar results would have been obtained if those teachers had not been selected by their principal.

Strengths of the current study, include the diversity of interviewees included both males (n = 4) and females (n = 3), and four of the five teachers interviewed had 10 or more years of teaching experience. Further, participants were not a self-selected group; in which case concerns that those who did not enjoy teaching HDC opted out of the study. All teachers that taught HDC in their middle school (n = 5) accepted the invitation to interview; participants did not receive any remuneration for their time spent participating in the interview. Members of the research team conducting data coding did not have any personal contact with interviewees. Finally, HDC was successfully implemented in both a private and public-school setting each with a different mission and mandate, suggesting these findings may generalize to other school settings.

Implications for practice and research

The shared language and experience students and teachers developed with HDC was notable and may hold potential in addressing broader social issues involving conflict and social upheaval. HDC facilitated communication between teachers and students and may hold implications for increasing teacher wellness as well as for students (Sandilos et al., 2023). Typical SEL impacts, i.e., empathy, coupled with the HDC lexicon that recognizes a universal shared humanity may deserve investigation examining secondary impacts on attitudes related to bullying and interpersonal violence (Nickerson et al., 2019), prejudicial attitudes toward newcomers (Crooks et al., 2022), and stigmatization of underserved groups (Wittlin et al., 2023).

Conclusion

Teachers perceived HDC to be a well-crafted, high-value, user-friendly, flexible, socio-emotional learning curriculum with a variety of engaging active learning options for each lesson. Implementing HDC generated a common language to communicate about negative, e.g., school infractions, and positive, e.g., personal growth, behaviors in students. Teachers felt they were personally and positively impacted by teaching HDC. Teachers felt supported throughout the delivery of HDC, and administrators felt it was a strong fit with their school setting. All interviewees stated they would highly recommend HDC to another teacher or school. This novel SEL curriculum warrants further investigation.

Data availability statement

The original contributions presented in the study are included in the article/supplementary material, further inquiries can be directed to the corresponding author.

Ethics statement

The studies involving humans were approved by the St. Mary’s University, SMU REB File #24–070. The studies were conducted in accordance with the local legislation and institutional requirements. The participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

Author contributions

ML: Conceptualization, Writing – original draft, Formal analysis.

Funding

The author(s) declare that no financial support was received for the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.

Acknowledgments

The author wishes to thank the interview participants who generously gave their time after a full and exhausting day in their classrooms, the research assistants for conducting interviews and their meticulous, excruciating detailed coding of the data.

Conflict of interest

The author declares that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.

Publisher’s note

All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article, or claim that may be made by its manufacturer, is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

References

Ağırkan, M., and Ergene, T. (2022). What does the social and emotional learning interventions (SEL) tell us? A meta-analysis. Rev Psicod 27, 97–108. doi: 10.1016/j.psicoe.2022.02.002

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