Globally, the coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has caused widespread disruptions in daily life, especially in the education system in most countries. Teachers have been forced to improvise distance-learning solutions for their students, and students began to experience entirely new and amplified challenges brought on by a global health crisis, economic downturn, social isolation, and future uncertainty. In order to assess the impact and role of Lions Quest during the pandemic, Lions Clubs International Foundation (LCIF) and the United Nations Office on Drugs and Crime (UNODC) collected data from Lions Quest teachers in Croatia about their experiences.
Lions Quest remains relevant for healthy development.
The findings were published in the May 2020 American Psychological Association’s journal, Psychological Trauma: Theory, Research, Practice, and Policy. The article, “Lions Quest Skills for Adolescence Implementation During COVID-19 Challenges in Croatia,” summarizes the positive experience of Croatian teachers utilizing Lions Quest during the COVID-19 lockdown. The majority of teachers recognized the value in teaching social and emotional learning skills under quarantine and were able to adapt Lions Quest exercises for the online classroom.
Although core subjects like math and reading typically have been prioritized, these teachers continue to use Lions Quest because it remains relevant for healthy development, and is perhaps even more essential as students face new and complex challenges. The article also emphasizes the growing demand for flexible approaches to teaching social and emotional learning such as Lions Quest online.
In 2019, LCIF and UNODC expanded partnership efforts to Croatian middle schools, training 92 teachers throughout the country in effective social and emotional learning strategies and equipping them with Lions Quest materials to build resiliency in youth and promote drug prevention. Teachers across four cities are currently implementing the program as part of a two-year pilot project. Their experiences are continuously monitored to inform local and worldwide expansion of the program.
For more than 30 years, Lions have embraced the idea of helping children grow in a positive direction. With implementation in more than 100 countries and geographic areas, Lions Quest is a global program. LCIF has trained more than 750,000 educators to implement Lions Quest in classrooms, after-school settings, and even on the athletic field. More than 19 million young people have benefitted from the program, making it one of the most widely used life skills and prevention programs in the world. For more information, visit lions-quest.org.
Ariel Dickson is the LCIF regional specialist for Lions Quest programming in Africa, Europe, the Middle East, and South Asia.
