Finish school, create future

In Argentina, March is the month where classes begin, so we welcome a new year of opportunities even though the country is passing through a difficult period in terms of its social and economic situation, which has a greater impact on the youngest: half of the children and adolescents are below the poverty line. This context forces us to work harder so students can achieve their high school diploma, make their passage through schooling better, and support them through the decision making related to their career paths and higher studies.

In this report, we wanted to tell you more about the work on socioemotional skills, one of the particularities of the Futuros Egresados Program in comparison to other scholarship programs. Socioemotional skills refer to a person's ability to relate to others and to himself or herself, understand and manage emotions, set and achieve goals, make autonomous decisions, and confront adverse situations in a creative and constructive manner. These skills, which incorporate cognitive—but not intellectual—aspects, although they are related to how people think, do not refer to the skills that have historically been related to the assessment of IQ. e, socioemotional skills are mostly affected by the context and present a critical period of maturation that goes up to youth. Therefore, socioemotional skills can be developed or changed, hence their potential in the educational context. Secondary school is crucial for the development of these skills, and the school institution as well as the adult referents present are key actors in the development of these skills.

Among the main socioemotional skills we work on with scholarship students and evaluate them according to are time management, analytical skills, responsibility and commitment, and self-esteem.

The evaluation area led an investigation on the impact, and in the main results, we found that beginning the secondary school has a negative impact on students' self-perceptions, and in this context, the PFE offers an opportunity to "cushion" this fall. Also, participation in the program may set up a specific frame of reference from which participants evaluate themselves with greater rigor. We invite you to read more on our webpage: https://cimientos.org/pdf/Las-HSE-en-Cimientos.pdf.

Reference: Fundación Cimientos (2019). Las Habilidades Socioemocionales en Cimientos. Conceptualización, resultados de su evaluación y nuevos desafíos https://cimientos.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/11/Las-HSE-en-Cimientos.p

Finally, we invite you to see how our students are starting their scholar year on our Instagram and want to thank you for making this possible!