ABSTRACT
Socio-emotional learning helps children and young adults learn valuable life skills such as empathy, friendships, confidence, self-control, self-awareness, and responsibility. This was conducted to determine learners’ socio-emotional learning skills and academic achievement in selected districts of Division of Misamis Oriental, S.Y 2022-2023. This is to: 1) find the level of learners’ socio-emotional learning skills; 2) find the level of learners’ academic achievement; and 3) determine the significant relationship between the learners’ socio-emotional learning skills and their academic achievement.
There were one-hundred forty-five learners currently from Grades 7 and 8 classes. This study used descriptive survey method of research. Further, Pearson Product Moment of Correlation (r) was employed to determine the significant relationship between the learners’ socio-emotional learning skills and their academic achievement and the instrument used was a questionnaire on socio-emotional learning, however, the indicators were adapted and modified from the study of Gehlbach (2014). Data were processed using descriptive statistics such as percentage, frequency, mean, and standard deviation on describing variables of the study.
Findings revealed that learners’ socio-emotional learning skills were high and their academic achievement in the first and second quarters in: Mathematics, Science, English, Filipino, and Araling Panlipunan was very satisfactory. There was no significant relationship between the learners’ socio-emotional learning skills and their academic achievement. Learners’ socio-emotional learning skills and academic achievement show positive outcomes. Learners’ socio-emotional learning skills do not affect their academic achievement. It is recommended that school administrators should develop a cultural program to improve learners’ socio-emotional learning skills in appreciating cultural diversity.
Keywords: Socio-emotional learning skills, academic achievement
INTRODUCTION
Learners in every corner of the world have been trapped and needed permission to roam around, the educational system shifted to online and modular distance learning. Their ability to develop social and emotional skills was deprived as they were prohibited from attending school personally. The student’s social and emotional learning skills are crucial to the development of their whole being and to achieve lifelong learning. Perhaps there may be advantages and disadvantages to the implementation of the new modes of learning, but this study weighed more on the relationship between the learner’s social and emotional learning skills and their academic achievements.
As mandated by the Department of Education to implement modular distance learning teachers are concerned with the learner’s socio-emotional well-being and their academic performances. The worse situation challenged teacher–student relationships nationwide, as opportunities for in-person teacher–student interactions were greatly reduced by the transition to remote instruction (Hodgman, 2021). Recently in 2022, DepEd announced back-to-school. Teachers are concerned about the learners’ social and emotional well-being, and their academic achievement after the dramatic changes in their learning setup.
During the implementation of distance learning, most of the students were inactive in doing their learning activities, they had less chance to meet and connect a bond with their new teachers, and classmates. After a few years, the educational system gradually implemented limited face-to-face classes, in which learners are allowed to attend their classes once or twice a week. There was a huge difference between their performance in modular distance learning and limited face-to-face classes. Most students are excited and actively participate in every class activity and performance, and their ability to practice social and emotional learning skills is apparent during face-to-face classes.
The international development community has begun to recognize the importance of social and emotional learning (SEL) and a positive and safe school and classroom climate in promoting academic achievement in schools (Bulat, 2020). When thinking about social and emotional learning, it is important to acknowledge how young people are interacting, learning, and communicating with one another, the pandemic cemented the role of media and technology in young people’s lives, as a result, the social and emotional wellbeing of students, particularly in and around the digital world, must be a priority for both educators and families (Mendoza, 2021). Undersecretary for Administration Alain Del B. Pascua (2021) explained in a message in the last episode of the program; “Due to limited interaction with the community, it was very seldom having the chance to develop the socio-emotional learning skills of the students. The program T.A.L.A (Tuklasin, Alamin, Likhain, at Alalahanin) was an initiative by the DRRMS as one of the strategies of the department to give serious attention to the emotional and social development of the learners.” (deped.gov.ph, 2021).
Social-emotional learning (SEL) is an essential skill and a factor that needs to be developed by the learners for it has a great and positive impact on their academic performances. There are sets of skills that need to be developed by everyone at an early age as possible. Every aspect of life to be successful comes from the person’s ability to manage social and emotional skills. Tim Walker (2020), said that SEL is the foundation, the heartbeat of the classroom, it is about connecting everybody and making them feel safe and secure before you get to academics; It only means that SEL skills and performance are as important as the academic outputs. According to F. Wortha (2019), emotions are core factors of learning and an essential component of learning activities across settings. This is due to rapid changes in social and community norms that have great impacts on the learners’ academic performances.
Education Secretary Lapus said that these skills (SEL) are expected to facilitate academic achievement and develop well-rounded, wholesome individuals, developing lifelong learners in a fast-changing world calls for continuous refinement in education (Philstar, NY). Another educator who took part in workshops for teachers on giving highlights on the essence of SEL in high school classroom settings, Professor Folsom trained the teachers in intellectual and emotional learning in the Philippines. She spent a few weeks in the Philippines aiming to integrate social and emotional learning skills into the curricula with the help of elementary and high school educators (Lehman, 2022).
It is in this context that the researcher would like to ascertain the level of learners’ socio-emotional learning skills and their academic achievement in selected districts, Misamis Oriental, S.Y 2022-2023.
METHODOLOGY
This study made use of descriptive survey methods of research to determine the relationship between learners’ socio-emotional learning skills on their academic achievement in selected districts in the Division of Misamis Oriental. The descriptive survey method is a time-efficient research method and engages people who are at the center of the research objective (Chaudhari, 2020). According to Research Connections (NY), it collects data that is used to answer a wide range of what, when, and how questions about a particular population or group. This method was utilized by the researcher as it is the suitable process to analyze and measure the data using percentage, means, and correlation, through the responses shown in the data it will display the frequency on each item.
This research design is by far the most commonly used form of research, organizations will use it as a method to reveal and measure the strength of a target group’s opinion, attitude, or behavior concerning a given subject (SurveyMonkey, 2022). It also aims to accurately and systematically describe a population, situation, or phenomenon, can answer what, where, when, and how questions, but not why questions, and can use a wide variety of research methods to investigate one or more variables (McCombes, 2020).
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