Explaining Parental Perspectives of Social Emotional Learning

Education in the United States is highly influenced by local perceptions, wants, and needs. Parents of children in school are a large portion of the voting block for local political candidates. Social Emotional Learning (SEL) is an educational concept that has gained traction over the past 60 years but has undergone much scrutiny in recent years due to political polarization and media coverage. The purpose of this study is to determine whether parents have differing opinions of SEL which may be evidenced by which type of school they enroll their children in: public, public charter, or private. This information may be beneficial for interested parties such as policymakers, educators, advocates, et cetera. Data from this research, which includes quantitative and qualitative information from parents with children in public, public charter, and private schools, indicates that parents overwhelmingly approve of SEL and consider it a priority in their child(ren)’s education.