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Assessing School Readiness for Social and Emotional Learning: A Study of School Leadership Perceptions and Attitudes

This study explores the integration of social and emotional learning (SEL) in a number of British schools across Egypt, focusing on how school leaders defined and perceived its importance in student development. Through in-depth interviews with twelve school leaders, this study found that school lea...

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Main Author: Elharati, Nahla
Format: Thesis
Published: AUC Knowledge Fountain 2026
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access_status_str Open Access
author Elharati, Nahla
author_browse Elharati, Nahla
author_facet Elharati, Nahla
author_sort Elharati, Nahla
collection Thesis
description This study explores the integration of social and emotional learning (SEL) in a number of British schools across Egypt, focusing on how school leaders defined and perceived its importance in student development. Through in-depth interviews with twelve school leaders, this study found that school leaders’ definitions of SEL emphasized self- awareness, self-regulation, and relationship-building, alongside a strong focus on the real-life applicability of SEL both within school settings and in students’ future lives. School leaders also expressed positive attitudes toward the benefits of SEL, particularly its role in enhancing academic performance, promoting student well-being, improving peer relationships, and reducing bullying, contributing to a more positive school climate. However, SEL practices varied significantly across the participating schools. While some schools had integrated SEL into classroom instruction and across school practices, others implemented SEL only occasionally through annual events or on-demand interventions. The implementation of SEL faced systematic, cultural, institutional, training, and assessment challenges. These challenges, both individually and in their interconnectedness, hindered effective SEL integration. Participants identified several key facilitators of effective SEL implementation, including targeted training, dedicated time allocation, and specific teacher attributes such as empathy, commitment, and a willingness to learn. Additionally, community influence was noted as an important factor, emphasizing the need for a multi-level approach to achieve maximum impact. Participants underscored the importance of raising awareness and advocating SEL and its benefits, beginning with school leadership but extending to all stakeholders. Ensuring cultural relevance and appropriateness of SEL practices was also highlighted as essential for successful implementation.
format Thesis
id oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-3639
institution American University in Cairo (Egypt)
last_indexed 2026-06-10T12:35:56.457Z
license_str Not specified — see source repository
provenance_str_mv Harvested via OAI-PMH from AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress
publishDate 2026
publishDateRange 2026
publishDateSort 2026
publisher AUC Knowledge Fountain
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source_str AUC Knowledge Fountain — bepress
spelling oai:fount.aucegypt.edu:etds-3639 Assessing School Readiness for Social and Emotional Learning: A Study of School Leadership Perceptions and Attitudes Elharati, Nahla This study explores the integration of social and emotional learning (SEL) in a number of British schools across Egypt, focusing on how school leaders defined and perceived its importance in student development. Through in-depth interviews with twelve school leaders, this study found that school leaders’ definitions of SEL emphasized self- awareness, self-regulation, and relationship-building, alongside a strong focus on the real-life applicability of SEL both within school settings and in students’ future lives. School leaders also expressed positive attitudes toward the benefits of SEL, particularly its role in enhancing academic performance, promoting student well-being, improving peer relationships, and reducing bullying, contributing to a more positive school climate. However, SEL practices varied significantly across the participating schools. While some schools had integrated SEL into classroom instruction and across school practices, others implemented SEL only occasionally through annual events or on-demand interventions. The implementation of SEL faced systematic, cultural, institutional, training, and assessment challenges. These challenges, both individually and in their interconnectedness, hindered effective SEL integration. Participants identified several key facilitators of effective SEL implementation, including targeted training, dedicated time allocation, and specific teacher attributes such as empathy, commitment, and a willingness to learn. Additionally, community influence was noted as an important factor, emphasizing the need for a multi-level approach to achieve maximum impact. Participants underscored the importance of raising awareness and advocating SEL and its benefits, beginning with school leadership but extending to all stakeholders. Ensuring cultural relevance and appropriateness of SEL practices was also highlighted as essential for successful implementation. 2026-01-31T08:00:00Z thesis application/pdf https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2585 https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/3639/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf Theses and Dissertations AUC Knowledge Fountain Social and Emotional learning School Practices Implementation Challenges Egypt private schools. Child Psychology Community Psychology Developmental Psychology Early Childhood Education Educational Leadership Educational Psychology Holistic Education School Psychology
spellingShingle Social and Emotional learning
School Practices
Implementation Challenges
Egypt private schools.
Child Psychology
Community Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Early Childhood Education
Educational Leadership
Educational Psychology
Holistic Education
School Psychology
Elharati, Nahla
Assessing School Readiness for Social and Emotional Learning: A Study of School Leadership Perceptions and Attitudes
title Assessing School Readiness for Social and Emotional Learning: A Study of School Leadership Perceptions and Attitudes
title_full Assessing School Readiness for Social and Emotional Learning: A Study of School Leadership Perceptions and Attitudes
title_fullStr Assessing School Readiness for Social and Emotional Learning: A Study of School Leadership Perceptions and Attitudes
title_full_unstemmed Assessing School Readiness for Social and Emotional Learning: A Study of School Leadership Perceptions and Attitudes
title_short Assessing School Readiness for Social and Emotional Learning: A Study of School Leadership Perceptions and Attitudes
title_sort assessing school readiness for social and emotional learning a study of school leadership perceptions and attitudes
topic Social and Emotional learning
School Practices
Implementation Challenges
Egypt private schools.
Child Psychology
Community Psychology
Developmental Psychology
Early Childhood Education
Educational Leadership
Educational Psychology
Holistic Education
School Psychology
url https://fount.aucegypt.edu/etds/2585
https://fount.aucegypt.edu/context/etds/article/3639/viewcontent/auto_convert.pdf
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