Teachers’ perspective on social and emotional learning in Maltese secondary schools

Abstract

The field of Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) has grown rapidly in recent years, yet local studies on SEL are limited. Evidence shows that effective SEL has positive outcomes on students’ well-being. This study aims to identify secondary teachers' perspectives on SEL. Specifically, it explores teachers' knowledge and attitudes towards SEL, determines the use and feasibility of SEL in the classroom, studies the relationship between training and SEL implementation, examines the barriers to SEL implementation and the influence of the curriculum on teachers' implementation of SEL. In order to gain a better understanding of the current Maltese situation on SEL, an online questionnaire was distributed to three state schools. The responses were analysed using descriptive and inferential analysis through SPSS. Overall, the results indicate that the majority of teachers were familiar with SEL and believed in its importance for students’ wellbeing. Though most teachers said they currently teach social and emotional skills, they think that PSCD teachers and counsellors are better equipped to do so since they believe they have more experience and training in teaching such skills. In addition, teachers feel that certain subjects are more practical than others to implement SEL. Another finding suggests that teachers who have received training on SEL are more likely to integrate SEL into their lessons. The results also show that there is a significant desire for additional training in SEL so that they feel competent enough to incorporate SEL into their subject. Moreover, the main challenges in implementing SEL, according to the teachers were the lack of available time designated for SEL, difficulty in addressing the different social and emotional needs of students and the lack of training sessions.