Exploring Paths of Preschool Teachers’ Effective Implementation of SEL Curriculum*

Teachers play a vital role in the implementation of social-emotional learning (SEL) curriculum. This study focuses on the Second Step program of the Committee for Children (CFC) and its roll-out at two kindergartens in Shanghai. It aims to assess how Chinese preschool teachers effectively put into action the SEL curriculum, considering knowledge, emotions, perception, and behavior dimensions. Utilizing NVivo12 software, interviews with 10 teachers are analyzed, revealing that advancements in teachers’ social and emotional competencies correlate with their ability to transform SEL knowledge into practice. Teachers’ perceptions of SEL significance reflect their level of SEL knowledge and influence their daily practice. Moreover, education integrating knowledge with emotions is achieved by combining knowledge, emotions, and perception. The findings highlight the following approaches to be adopted for better SEL curriculum outcomes, suggesting enhancing teachers’ cultural sensitivity and exploring SEL within the Chinese cultural context, establishing a community of SEL practices to facilitate dialogue between teachers’ personal knowledge and authoritative knowledge, and providing targeted support for teachers’ work integrating knowledge with emotions.