Benefits of RENEW:  A Faith-Infused, Game-Based Social-Emotional Intervention: Evidence from a Pilot Cluster...

Social-emotional competence (SEC) enables children to build successful relationships and reduces the risk of mental issues. It has been demonstrated that implementing social-emotional learning (SEL) programs helps develop students' SEC and that better results are obtained utilizing gamification. This paper illustrates the impact of the faith-infused, game-based intervention RENEW (REsilience iN Emotional and behavioral Well-being) on primary school students' SEC. The RENEW intervention was administered using the digital gamification platform Kahoot! across eight weekly sessions to a group of 45 students spanning grades four, five, seven, and eight (n = 45) at a Christian school in Taipei (Taiwan) during the 2021-2022 academic year. Before and after the intervention, the student's SEC was assessed using the Devereux Student Strengths Assessment-Mini. First, the differences between pre- and post-intervention were evaluated using a paired-sample t-test. Subsequently, the SEC relative change was analyzed with an ANOVA model that accounted for initial SEC status, gender and grade. Finally, the individual changes in the SEC category ("need for instruction", "typical", "strengths") and the individual SEC change magnitude ("null", "small", "medium", "large") were examined. The trial was registered at ClinicalTrials.gov (NCT04935593). On average, we observed an increase in SEC of 13.1%, which rose to 14.9% after adjusting for gender, grade and initial status. Moreover, eighteen students moved to a higher SEC category, and in 26 cases, a medium-to-large SEC change was observed. This study highlights the potential of classroom-wide, game-based SEL interventions to significantly enhance the SEC of primary school students. Additionally, it demonstrates that incorporating moral values into these interventions can effectively promote students' spiritual growth and character development.