Abstract

In the face of unprecedented challenges of life in the future, the coming workforce is required to continually adapt to constant changes. A growing concern on the urgency to equip students with necessary soft-skills, or the 21st century skills, also commonly called Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), is on the rise. This study is set to reveal how prepared the vocational high school students to embrace the SEL are. Sixty students (45 male, 15 female) participated in the study. Based on the data drawn from a series of class observations, in-depth interviews, and online surveys, students demonstrated a moderately high level of skills related to their self-management, self-awareness, and responsibility and decision making. It is recommended that teachers explicitly and implicitly integrate the Social and Emotional Learning dimensions in their teaching.

Keywords: SEL, reflection, self-management, relationship skill, responsible decision making.