6 Reasons Teachers Don’t Feel Equipped to Teach SEL

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Educators are largely in agreement that there are essential social-emotional skills that students should learn in the classroom, such as emotional regulation, cooperation, and problem solving.

Even so, many educators struggle to overcome major roadblocks to incorporating social-emotional learning into the school day. They cite overwhelming student need, a lack of bandwidth, difficulty integrating the concept into academic subjects, and insufficient training and instructional resources as the most prominent challenges to teaching SEL.

That’s according to an EdWeek Research Center survey of 499 teachers, principals, and district leaders surveyed in December and January.

The EdWeek Research Center asked survey respondents if they or the teachers in their schools or districts, were equipped to teach students social-emotional skills. The responses, a sampling of which appear below, illustrate the challenges teachers face in imparting to students the non-academic skills that are important for succeeding in school and in life beyond the classroom.

Educators also shared what they have found helps support their SEL programming and teaching.

The responses have been edited for length and clarity.

The social-emotional skills of educators themselves are weak

Some teachers are equipped to teach these skills, but not all. Those who are not struggle with self-regulation and empathy themselves, and expect students to uniformly come with SEL skills. These types of teachers lack understanding, patience, and sometimes the desire to support students in developing these skills.

—District-level administrator, Title I/Equity, New Mexico

I think some teachers struggle with their own SEL/mental health issues.They may not be able to cope well themselves and cannot effectively support students.

—High school teacher, fine arts, North Carolina

I would not consider myself to be the most emotionally-aware person. I try but I'm not batting a thousand here.

—High school teacher, science, Florida

The person teaching has to have the skills before they can teach others.

—District-level administrator, finance/business operations, Illinois

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The SEL curriculum is ineffective—or doesn’t exist

We are sometimes equipped to teach the skills, but the curriculum provided to us is "canned" and not always relatable to our students. I feel it is more worthwhile to approach topics as they naturally present themselves each day. Unfortunately, many of our students are coming to school ill-prepared for interactions with peers, teachers, and administrators.

—Elementary school teacher, Massachusetts

We are currently learning our fourth SEL program in the past five years. Need to stay focused instead of constantly changing.

—Middle school principal, Michigan

I do believe that we are equipped. Teachers have been doing this long before it had a name. In some cases, using a prescribed curriculum is actually more limiting for those teachers who have found effective ways to do SEL in their classrooms.

—High school teacher, instructional coach, Minnesota

We have a curriculum that nobody likes or uses, but admin keeps pushing it. We've never had proper training and are more worried about teaching the core subject standards.

—Elementary school teacher, Michigan

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Student needs are too high and many parents are not helping

We do have professional development on social/emotional learning. We have a curriculum, but I feel that students' mental heath has decreased because of COVID. Even the students who were not in school at the time, I feel they have been affected the most. I spoke to other teachers in other districts and they are finding that the students in lower elementary are not able to handle their emotions or express feelings.

—Elementary school teacher, Connecticut

We are not equipped to teach those skills because we have too many parents who are not meeting THEIR responsibilities.

—High school teacher, world languages, Maine

Kids are exposed to cellphones, social media, technology, [and] TV from a very young age. Their poor behavior choices have been influenced by what they have seen and have become addicted to thinking is "normal" [or] "popular." They lack compassion, empathy, a conscience, focus, manners.

—Middle school teacher, social-studies/civics, Ohio

At this point, teachers are expected to teach EVERYTHING—it is overwhelming because it is very difficult to teach students how to overcome and relearn negative behaviors that are reinforced at home.

—District level administrator, special education, Texas

Am I equipped to make sure these skills fit into every student's everyday life, their values? Can I appeal to every single one of their needs and lifestyles? We have a curriculum for student athletes, but what about those who don't play sports?

—High school teacher, English/language arts, Oregon

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Teachers lack quality training on how to teach SEL skills

The PD we have had has been inadequate and the administrative team has not had any meaningful follow-up or implementation.

—Middle school teacher, world languages, Pennsylvania

There are some who are equipped, however, we have not had a districtwide rollout with PD and follow-ups. Because it has been fragmented, so has the implementation.

—Middle school principal, California

This has not been a part of the teacher training prior to recently. So, veteran teachers need more training than those coming out of college now, in my opinion.

—Elementary school teacher, Michigan

I am equipped since I am a school counselor. I believe some teachers are equipped to teach these lessons but many push back because it is not in their expertise.

—Middle school counselor, Indiana

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Time is too short

Time is our greatest issue in implementing these skills. We have 45-minute classes nine times a day and it is difficult to incorporate these types of lessons into the curriculum. Fortunately, we are a small school with older teachers and staff who act as grandparents to many kids and teach and encourage social-emotional skill building.

—High school teacher, social studies/civics/history, Texas

Teachers struggle to find the time to teach the skills or the ability/confidence/tools to be able to integrate it into their instruction.

—District-level administrator, curriculum/instruction, Iowa

Takes time to do this stuff. We simply do not have enough of it, and what we are required to do ends up coming off as "canned" and gets little teacher or student buy-in.

—High school teacher, social studies/civics/history, Indiana

Our curriculum and classroom expectations are constantly changing so it is much harder to find time to incorporate time to teach social-emotional skills. There is also no program or training provided to support teachers with this difficult subject.

—Elementary school teacher, Michigan

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SEL doesn’t mesh with certain academic subjects

I teach music and that subject is framed around SEL concepts already, making them natural and easy to include. Other teachers do not have similar situations and therefore feel unequipped to view education in this manner.

—Music teacher, Illinois

Some [of these skills] are part of what we do in social studies (example: conflict management). So we know how to do that but others we have no training or tools for. We also don't have time set aside (no homeroom or advisory, for example) and our state standards are so big that covering required material is almost impossible as is. Any SEL we do is more of a one-off than ongoing support for students.

—High school teacher, social studies/civics/history, Minnesota

Teaching these skills is part of my commitment to developmentally-based education. However, not every teacher is on board or capable—many just want to teach their subject.

—Middle school teacher, English/language arts, Maine

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Resources, support, and a fluid approach to teaching SEL helps some educators feel better-equipped

We have a great program and training/PD. It's an ongoing adventure that we all believe in.

—Elementary school principal, Utah

We have resources through [our] current curriculum, and we have so much available online now, the resources are limitless.

—Elementary school teacher, South Dakota

I have had training and have seen the value in it. When you invest time on this, it is not wasted. It actually helps with the academic learning.

—Elementary school teacher, Colorado

Yes, most of our teachers are equipped. We have support from other staff and administration to fill any gaps that teachers cannot or are not equipped to handle.

—Middle school teacher, math/computer science, South Carolina

Yes. Most of our skills are taught during teachable moments, not taught separately.

—High school principal, Pennsylvania

Yes, we model the behavior(s).

—District superintendent, Pennsylvania

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