Perceptions of Undergraduate Nurse Faculty Regarding Social Emotional Learning Within Nursing Academia

The growing nursing shortage is a critical issue for healthcare systems worldwide. The demand for nurses and an urgent need for workforce stability require nursing students to be equipped with both knowledge and social and emotional skills for resiliency and coping before graduation. The social and emotional learning (SEL) framework provides specific competencies that emphasize the development of skills such as self-awareness, self-management, responsible decision-making, social awareness, and relationship skills. Incorporating SEL that emphasizes these skills into nursing education might provide the necessary tools not only for sustainability in the discipline, but academic and overall social-emotional competence. The purpose of this study was to explore the integration of SEL in nursing academia, specifically examining how SEL core competencies could contribute to the development of social and emotional skills to positively impact learner well-being, mental health, and academic performance. Twelve undergraduate nursing faculty members from across the United States participated in this descriptive qualitative study. Semi-structured interviews were conducted, recorded, and analyzed by the researcher to identify themes. Constant comparative analysis revealed four themes and eight sub-themes: (1) It Starts With Us, (1a) Changing Demographics of Educators (1b) Faculty Role Within SEL, (1c) Knowing The Student; (2) Forces Affecting Students, (2a) Student Behaviors, (2b) External Factors, (2c) The Faculty-Student Relationship; (3) Defining Success Is More Than A Test; and (4) Institutional and Operational Barriers, (4a) Faculty Responsibility, and (4b) SEL Professional Development Is Lacking. These themes represented the general beliefs of current nurse faculty regarding the potential benefits of and challenges or barriers to implementing purposeful inclusion of SEL in nursing academia. Furthermore, the discussion provided several recommendations for nursing faculty to incorporate and evaluate SEL within nursing academia, and ideas for future research.