Saudi Arabian Preschool Teachers’ Perspectives of the Need for Social Emotional Learning Curriculum

Abstract

Early childhood education is essential in helping children achieve academic and cognitive preparedness. To improve the students' literacy and reading skills, teachers must help children learn how to manage their emotions and handle social interactions effectively. However, the absence of a formal SEL curriculum, the Saudi Arabia Early Learning Standards (SAELS) ambiguity, resulting in an increased emphasis on academic and cognitive preparedness, ignoring social emotional skills. The purpose of this study was to explore Saudi Arabian preschool teachers' perceptions and experiences of the need for teaching SEL. I sought to understand the need for teaching SEL, the knowledge and skills they believe are part of SEL, the challenges in teaching SEL, and the support they need to positively impact young children's social emotional development. Qualitative methodology with a phenomenological design was used. Erikson's psychosocial developmental theory and Bandura's social learning theory provided theoretical foundations. Twelve preschool teachers from public preschools in Saudi Arabia were purposefully sampled. Thematic analysis was conducted from the interview and focus group transcripts. Four themes emerged in answering the central research question: 1) teaching SEL is essential in early childhood, 2) the need for SEL curriculum, 3) teachers need more training to improve knowledge and awareness of how to teach SEL, and 4) does not see SEL as a formal curriculum. The findings of this study highlight the need for a formal SEL curriculum to improve SEL in Saudi Arabia.