Developmental Characteristics and Educational Promotion of Social-Emotional Competence among Rural Students with Learning Difficulties

Shiyan Liao

doi:10.63313/ESW.9094

Authors

Shiyan Liao School of Education, Zhaoqing University, Zhaoqing, 526061, China Author

DOI:

https://doi.org/10.63313/ESW.9094

Keywords:

Rural students with learning difficulties, SEL, social-emotional competence, ecological systems, culturally sensitive intervention, family–school–community collaboration

Abstract

With the deepening implementation of the fundamental task of fostering virtue through education and China’s strategy for education modernization, social and emotional learning (SEL) has increasingly been recognized as a key pathway for promoting students’ academic achievement, mental health, and positive social adaptation (Durlak et al., 2011; Mahoney et al., 2018). Against the backdrop of persistent imbalances between urban and rural education, rural students with learning difficulties—who are situated at the intersection of geographic disadvantage and academic struggles—have become a high-risk group whose social-emotional development and educational support systems require systematic examination. Drawing on both domestic and international literature, this article integrates the CASEL framework of social-emotional competence with Bronfenbrenner’s ecological systems theory to analyze the major developmental characteristics of social-emotional competence among rural students with learning difficulties and to reveal the root causes of their developmental challenges. On this basis, it proposes an integrated framework for educational promotion grounded in the core ideas of cultural sensitivity and systemic empowerment.

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