SAFI - Software-Supported Analysis and Promotion of Social Integration in School Classes

Duration: January 2024 – December 2024
Status: Completed
Educational Level: Special Needs Education, Primary Level
Topic: Data Science for Education, Digital Tools
Keywords: Social Well-being, Classroom Climate, Digital Feedback Tools, Educational Inclusion

Initial Situation

Social relationships, well-being, and classroom climate are central to children’s social-emotional and academic development. Students learn better when they feel comfortable at school and experience a sense of belonging and acceptance. Moreover, fostering student well-being in schools is more critical than ever, as recent studies report a decline in child and youth well-being over the past decade. Teachers play a vital role in supporting students’ well-being and in creating a positive classroom climate. However, although teachers are expected to support social processes and establish positive classroom environments, few data-based tools exist that allow them to systematically assess and promote children’s social well-being.

Objectives

With the SAFI project, we aimed to develop a tool (“Klassenpuls”) for upper primary school teachers and special education specialists to conduct short, regular check-ins with their students through online surveys, including automated processing and visualisation of results. Our objectives were to:

1. Sensitise teachers to social dynamics and processes in their classes,
2. foster reflection on both their own perceptions and their students’ perspectives, and
3. promote cooperation between teachers and special education professionals in creating a positive classroom climate.

Method

We based the software concept for Klassenpuls on current scientific approaches, using established questionnaire scales and social network analysis methods. This concept formed the foundation for the technical development and was continuously refined through collaboration with an expert advisory group (including BeLEARN partners, Prof. Carmen Zurbriggen, University of Fribourg, and Barbara Muntwyler, Mosaikschule Munzinger). Two field tests in 19 school classes, conducted in May and November 2024, allowed teachers to test and evaluate both a prototype and the first finalised version of the application.

Results

We developed a three-part measurement framework enabling detailed class- and student-level profiles of well-being, classroom climate, and peer relationships. Based on teacher and student feedback, we significantly improved the application’s usability and accessibility by adding Easy Read language, multilingual support, text-to-speech functionality, and refining the data visualisation dashboard. Overall, evaluations by experts and teachers were highly positive and confirmed the tool’s strong potential to raise teachers’ awareness of social-emotional classroom dynamics. At the same time, several key areas for future development were identified, including strengthening teachers’ data literacy, ensuring student data protection, and providing guidance for appropriate interventions based on classroom results.

Implemented Translation

The tool continues to be developed. Initially, we will implement it in special education teacher training with partners at PHBern for educational purposes, and to gain further experience for guided applications in school settings. Additionally, given its easy integration into research studies, the SAFI application will be made available as a research tool for psychology and education research groups studying social-emotional processes in classrooms. Furthermore, SAFI provides the foundation for the follow-up project “Schul-Connect”, funded by Movetia, which aims to co-develop an action-oriented application together with professionals, teachers, and students to assess student well-being and foster personal and social-emotional competencies.

Although Klassenpuls is not yet ready for everyday classroom practice, it already makes a valuable contribution to teacher education and research. In teacher training, it helps future special education teachers recognise and reflect on social-emotional dynamics in their classrooms using scientifically validated instruments and clear visual feedback. Klassenpuls also opens up new opportunities for research, providing a tripartite conceptual framework and standardised surveys that generate data-driven insights into students’ well-being, relationships, and classroom climate. In this way, the project strengthens awareness of social-emotional learning, encourages evidence-based approaches in schools, and inspires the continued development of innovative educational tools.

Participating Institutions