A Case Study on Subject-Integrated Social and Emotional Learning in General High School: Focusing on Five Subject Application Cases

Purpose: This study explored the experiences of high school students who participated in a subject-integrated Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) program, aiming to derive implications for educational practice and policy. Methods: The program was implemented with 351 students and 10 teachers at a general high school in Seoul. Qualitative data—including satisfaction surveys, focus-group interviews, student work, and teacher reflection reports—were analyzed to understand the processes and contexts of change. Results: Student data were categorized into four themes (first impressions, exploration, application, reflection), and teacher data into five (prior understanding, preparation, collaboration, meaning of the program, generalization). Conclusion: For the students in this program, the subject-integrated SEL classes were “a time to better understand myself: exploration-application-reflection”. The educational activities served as “an experience of enhancing learning competencies through the exploration of knowledge and information”. This study demonstrated that social-emotional learning can extend beyond emotional growth to learning capabilities and life applications. It also raised concerns about the need for a ‘Whole-School Approach’ social-emotional learning system and the role of local governance. Based on these findings, this study proposed policy recommendations related to SEL and discussed its limitations and directions for future research.