Primary School Teachers’ Conceptions of Social and Emotional Learning for Students in Vietnam

This study explores primary school teachers’ conceptions of social and emotional learning in Vietnam. The study is the first part of a grounded theory research on teachers’ perspectives and understanding of social and emotional learning. Thirteen primary school teachers in public schools representing three different school settings are recruited as participants during purposeful and theoretical sampling. The primary data collection method is intensive semi-structured interviews. With 17 meeting times during more than 20 hours of interviewing, the study reaches saturation, and a substantive theory is generated as the finding of the grounded theory research. The present study reports the first out of four parts of the research. The findings indicate that social and emotional learning is a part of life skill education in Vietnam and includes five elements: Self-awareness, Empathy, Emotional management, Cooperation, and Problem-solving skills. The study facilitates a foundation to investigate teachers’ perspectives on the significance and implementation of social and emotional learning in Vietnam.