USA educator perspectives regarding the nature and value of social and emotional learning

Abstract

This paper discusses the US educator perspectives regarding the nature and value of Social Emotional Learning (SEL) skills. This research is part of a larger study being conducted by 33 career development investigators from 15 countries. SEL skills are becoming increasingly critical to helping youth develop the competencies needed to become employable within the emergent 4th Industrial Revolution. Today’s youth must articulate how their competencies align to multiple career opportunities. They need relationship skills and social awareness to interact with different managers and work environments. Youth need self-management skills to advance in the workplace and engage in lifelong learning. For this study, educators were asked to provide written responses to a series of open-ended questions about their understanding of SEL, their perspective on SEL’s relevance to their own effectiveness as educators, and whether and how they perceive SEL as relevant to teaching in classroom settings. This paper will report on the results of how U.S. educators perceive the value and relevance of SEL. Using a modified grounded theory approach, responses from 40 educators were analyzed and 123 SEL themes emerged. The results will be discussed in relation to existing SEL and career readiness frameworks.