How Social-Emotional learning improves the Japanese English education system

Abstract

It must be accepted that there will never be a perfect universal educational curriculum and teachers can only strive for improvement. In the process of reforming education, it has become no longer possible to discuss pedagogy, academic achievement, or the culture and climate of schools without discussing social-emotional competencies under the framework of social and emotional learning (SEL). This pedagogical concept has been welcomed in Western countries such as the U.S. and the U.K., but will it find a place in the educational systems in the East in countries such as Japan, and in what capacity? This paper aims to analyze d SEL, and disclose some of the possible problems of initializing this reform; the current Japanese educational system-in particularly the lack of transition between K-12 and university, thinking style, cultural prejudice, and gender inequality. This study conducts a literature review on the topic and presents the findings in a discussion. Keywords: Educational reform; Equity; Social Emotional Learning; Teaching English as a foreign language.