Student Experiences of Social Emotional Learning: A Nested Qualitative Inquiry of the Motus Pilot Programme

Understanding student experiences of social emotional learning (SEL) is a growing area of interest. Student perspectives can provide insight into individual differences in programme effectiveness and implementation fidelity measures, such as student responsiveness. Using the Motus SEL programme as an exemplar, this study aimed to understand student responsiveness to SEL targeting secondary school transition. Students who received the SEL programme participated in two focus groups (N = 20) that were transcribed verbatim. Transcripts were then analyzed using Xu and Zammit’s (2020) hybrid model of thematic analysis, applying both inductive coding and deductive coding as guided by SEL theory and the Quality Teaching Framework. The analysis generated four themes: (1) relevant and applicable SEL content, (2) the importance of SEL programme structure, (3) the integration of gamification in SEL, and (4) the need for individualized SEL. Briefly, students emphasized that the content was helpful and enjoyed the gamified pedagogy. However, students highlighted the need for an extended programme duration to improve information consolidation and variation in content and pedagogy to cater for different abilities. Integrating these student perspectives with evidence from quantitative findings can explain how and why an SEL programme is effective and better inform programme development and implementation.