Abstracts Education

Social-Emotional Learning Needs of Private High School Students Amidst the COVID-19 Pandemic

by Katie Pfeifer

The coronavirus (COVID-19) pandemic has impacted nearly every student across America. Not only has students’ academic well-being been impacted, but so has their social and emotional well-being. Specific literature on high school students’ social emotional learning (SEL) needs is limited given the newness of the crisis. This qualitative study will share results from nine Zoom interviews with high school students at a private school examining different SEL needs amidst the COVID-19 pandemic. Students experienced a variety of SEL needs, including peer support, regular check-ins with adults, a desire for in-person schooling experiences even with the COVID-19 mitigation methods that included social distancing and mask wearing, and support in their decision making process regarding their future self. These students met their own SEL needs through utilizing different forms of technology to connect with peers, personal coping strategies when they felt stressed or anxious, necessary mental and communicative adjustments due to the COVID-19 mitigation methods of social distancing and mask wearing, and self-reflection and guidance for decision making regarding their future self.