A Study to Explore the Awareness of Teacher Educators about Social and Emotional Learning Skills

Teacher education is designed to enhance educators' skills and abilities, helping them effectively navigate the challenges of a real classroom. Social-emotional learning (SEL) plays a crucial role in this process, as it equips teachers with essential classroom management skills, fosters student well-being, and improves academic performance. This study critically explores the integration of SEL competencies into teacher education, focusing on teacher educators' awareness and the extent to which SEL is embedded in the curriculum. The study was descriptive, and a quantitative research design was used; the research employs a self-developed questionnaire for teacher educators. Data analysis, including frequencies, percentages, and mean values, provides a detailed understanding of the results. The findings are striking: teacher educators primarily highlight self-awareness and social awareness, while other critical SEL skills, self-management, relationship-building, and responsible decision-making, are significantly underrepresented. The study calls for an urgent revision of the teacher education curriculum, recommending the balanced inclusion of all SEL competencies, the creation of targeted professional development programs for educators, and the active involvement of diverse stakeholders in the curriculum development process.