Shaping Young Minds: How School Environment Predicts Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) in Primary Schools

Abstract

The current quantitative cross-sectional study addresses how SEL can be meaningfully embedded in a resource-constrained primary school environment. The main objective of the study was to examine the predictive relationship between different dimensions of the school environment on SEL. Through proportionate stratified random sampling (25%), 302 students (males = 156, Females = 146) were selected from classes IV and V from Karachi West schools. The Panorama Social-Emotional Learning Survey for Grades 3–5 was used for data collection on-site, which covers SEL competencies and school environment aspects. The findings reveal that there is a significant positive correlation between SEL and classroom effort (r = .291), and SEL and rigorous expectations (r = .428). However, for other dimensions, the relationship was negative and weak. Additionally, non-significant correlations were found for engagement (r = .034, p = .277) and school safety (r = -.083, p = .074) with SEL. Similar findings were observed with the multiple regression analysis, as classroom effort and rigorous expectations were the significant positive predictors, engagement was not a significant predictor of SEL, school climate was not a significant predictor, and school safety showed a marginal, non-significant effect. Thus, the study's findings can provide actionable insights for multiple stakeholders, including policymakers, curriculum developers, and educators, to create an emotionally supportive and equitable educational environment that facilitates effective SEL implementation. For this to be truly effective, aspects of SEL need to be integrated into the students’ total environment, school policy, culture, and programs. This creates an inclusive environment where students develop self-awareness, empathy, and emotional regulation, enabling them to become emotionally mature and make wise decisions.

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