Understanding Social Emotional Learning (SEL) – A Key Aspect to Holistic Development in Children

Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is defined as the process of acquiring core competencies to recognize and manage emotions, set and achieve goals, appreciate the perspectives of others, establish and maintain positive relationships, make responsible decisions, and handle interpersonal situations constructively. The research aims to understand the issues faced by primary students in the area of social-emotional development. A qualitative methodology was used and results were obtained by taking face-to-face interviews and group discussions with 20 students, 5 parents, and 7 teachers. The data were collected by purposive sampling method and it was analyzed by using thematic analysis through which the themes and sub-themes could be identified. The results indicated that there is a need to develop interventions in the areas of Emotional development – improving the understanding, expressions, and management of emotions for their self and others; Social development – improving their relationship building skill, helping behavior, socializing, confronting behavior, dealing with disagreements, disciplinary practices and using 3 magical words; and the awareness of their self. The result also indicated the impact of lockdown on social-emotional development signifying the urgency of the need for the development of an intervention.