Implementation of Social-Emotional Learning in Public Sector Schools in Sindh
Investigating Educators’ Beliefs
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.5281/zenodo.17774103Abstract
Abstract Views: 1272
Social-Emotional Learning (SEL) is a systematic approach through which individuals, particularly pupils, develop and apply the understanding, abilities, and attitudes necessary for creating healthy identities. Both adults and students can benefit from SEL as it helps empower them and reduce inequalities. According to research, teachers are vital for developing social and emotional competencies in students. Through semi-structured interviews with government school teachers in the districts of Shaheed Benazirabad and Matiari in Sindh province, this qualitative study seeks to explore how instructors in public sector schools perceive and comprehend SEL and how it is implemented in their classrooms. The findings reveal that while the teachers demonstrated adequate awareness of SEL, they significantly lacked its deeper understanding (SEL facets outlined in the CASEL framework). The participants cited several barriers, including the socio-cultural factors and institutional barriers, all contributing towards the lack of implementation of SEL. They further highlighted the inefficient role of the government in aiding teachers to implement SEL for students. The study contributes to understanding how teachers perceive SEL and underscores the need for the Government of Sindh to implement interventions that foster SEL into educational practices for the holistic development of students in schools.
Keywords:
Implementation barriers, Rural school context, SEL implementation, Social-emotional learning, Teachers’ perceptionsReferences
Bandura, A. (1989). Human agency in social cognitive theory. American Psychologist, 44(9), 1175. https://doi.org/10.1037/0003-066X.44.9.1175
Brackett, M. A., Reyes, M. R., Rivers, S. E., Elbertson, N. A., & Salovey, P. (2012). Assessing teachers’ beliefs about social and emotional learning. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment, 30(3), 219-236. https://doi.org/10.1177/0734282911424879
Bronfenbrenner, U., & Evans, G. W. (2000). Developmental Science in the 21st Century: Emerging Questions, Theoretical Models, Research Designs and Empirical Findings. Social Development, 9(1), 115-125. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-9507.00114
Cipriano, C., Strambler, M. J., Naples, L. H., Ha, C., Kirk, M., Wood, M., ... & Durlak, J. (2023). The state of evidence for social and emotional learning: A contemporary meta‐analysis of universal school‐based SEL interventions. Child Development, 94(5), 1181-1204. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.13968
Collie, R. J., & Perry, N. E. (2019). Cultivating teacher thriving through social–emotional competence and its development. The Australian Educational Researcher, 46(4), 699-714. https://doi.org/10.1007/s13384-019-00342-2
Crawford, M. (2020). Ecological systems theory: Exploring the development of the theoretical framework as conceived by Bronfenbrenner. Journal of Public Health Issue & Practice, 4(2), 170. https://doi.org/10.33790/jphip1100170
Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta‐analysis of school‐based universal interventions. Child Development, 82(1), 405-432. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x
Farooq, S., Yousaf, T., & Shahzad, S. (2023). Prevalence of emotional and behavioural problems among adolescents in pakistan: a cross-sectional study. Journal of Pakistan Psychiatric Society, 20(01), 22-26.
Gimbert, B. G., Miller, D., Herman, E., Breedlove, M., & Molina, C. E. (2023). Social emotional learning in schools: The importance of educator competence. Journal of Research on Leadership Education, 18(1), 3-39. https://doi.org/10.1177/19427751211014920
Green, A. L., Ferrante, S., Boaz, T. L., Kutash, K., & Wheeldon‐Reece, B. (2021). Social and emotional learning during early adolescence: Effectiveness of a classroom‐based SEL program for middle school students. Psychology in the Schools, 58(6), 1056-1069. https://doi.org/10.1002/pits.22487
Hamilton, L. S., Doss, C. J., & Steiner, E. D. (2019). Teacher and Principal Perspectives on Social and Emotional Learning in America's Schools: Findings from the American Educator Panels--Appendixes. Research Report. RR-2991-BMGF. RAND Corporation.
Hoffman, D. M. (2009). Reflecting on social emotional learning: A critical perspective on trends in the United States. Review of Educational Research, 79(2), 533-556. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654308325184
Jennings, P. A., & Greenberg, M. T. (2009). The prosocial classroom: Teacher social and emotional competence in relation to student and classroom outcomes. Review of Educational Research, 79(1), 491-525. https://doi.org/10.3102/0034654308325693
Jones, S. M., & Doolittle, E. J. (2017). Social and emotional learning: Introducing the issue. The Future of Children, 27(1), 3-11. https://doi.org/10.1353/foc.2017.0000
Khoso, Z. A., Siddiqui, M. A., Tagar, A. A., & Tagar, H. K. (2019). An evaluation of Sindh schools education system: Problems and possibilities. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 6(3).
Lasi, S., Khan, K., & Afzal, N. (2023). Social-emotional learning: Preschool teachers’ perspectives from urban and rural contexts. Journal of Early Childhood Care and Education, 7(2), 77-98.
Memon, G. R. (2007). Education in Pakistan: The key issues, problems and the new challenges. Journal of Management and Social Sciences, 3(1), 47-55.
Najmussaqib, A., & Mushtaq, A. (2023). Estimation and linkage between behavioral problems and social emotional competence among Pakistani young school children. Plos one, 18(5), e0278719. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0278719
Nichols, L. M., Goforth, A. N., Sacra, M., & Ahlers, K. (2017). Collaboration to support rural student social-emotional needs. Rural Educator, 38(1), 38-48. https://doi.org/10.35608/ruraled.v38i1.234
Recker, M. L. (2023). Social and emotional learning defined through exploration of Albert Bandura’s social cognitive theory and Abraham Maslow’s hierarchy of needs: A document analysis of Ohio’s K-12 Social and Emotional Learning Standards and Theory Alignment (Doctoral dissertation, University of Findlay). http://rave.ohiolink.edu/etdc/view?acc_num=findlay1689679604677395
Downloads
Published
How to Cite
Issue
Section
License
Copyright (c) 2025 Academy of Education and Social Sciences Review
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.
