TITLE

A Narrative Inquiry into How Socio-Emotional Learning Shapes Reading and Awareness: Accounts from Learners, Teachers, and Coordinators

AUTHOR

Aden Zaira B. Cancino
University of Perpetual Help System-DALTA, Las Piñas City, Philippines
Email: adenzairabcancino@gmail.com

JOURNAL INFORMATION

QualiSearch Journal of Educational Research and Practice
Volume 2, Issue 3, March 2026
ISSN 3082-5636

DOI

DOI: Pending Crossref registration

ABSTRACT

Socio-emotional learning (SEL) has been increasingly recognized as integral to holistic education; however, its integration within reading instruction remains underexplored, particularly in Philippine public secondary schools where literacy programs tend to emphasize technical comprehension. This study examined how SEL is constructed and narrated within reading practices and how these constructions shape reading comprehension, self-awareness, and social awareness among Grade 7 learners. Employing a qualitative narrative inquiry design, the research engaged Grade 7 students, reading teachers, and reading coordinators from selected public schools in Caloocan City. Data were generated through semi-structured interviews that elicited participants’ lived experiences in SEL-integrated reading activities. Narrative accounts were analyzed using Riessman’s analytic approaches, including thematic, structural, dialogic, and performative analyses, to identify patterns in how participants sequenced and interpreted their experiences. Findings revealed that reading comprehension is emotionally mediated, collaboratively enacted, and institutionally supported. Across narratives, comprehension emerged as conditional—often disrupted by anxiety, pressure, or confusion, yet restored through emotional regulation, instructional support, and relational engagement. Three interrelated domains were inductively generated: Affective Access and Narrative Meaning (A.D.E.N.), Collaborative and Narrative Enactment (C.A.N.), and Classroom and Institutional Organization (C.I.N.O.). These domains collectively illustrate how socio-emotional processes accompany and sustain reading engagement. The study contributes a localized, SEL-informed framework that informs the development of a school-based reading program manual grounded in participants’ experiences.

KEYWORDS

Narrative inquiry, socio-emotional learning, reading comprehension, self-awareness, Philippine public schools

CITATION (APA FORMAT)

Cancino, A. Z. B. (2026). A narrative inquiry into how socio-emotional learning shapes reading and awareness: Accounts from learners, teachers, and coordinators. QualiSearch Journal of Educational Research and Practice, 2(3).

CORRESPONDING AUTHOR

Aden Zaira B. Cancino (adenzairabcancino@gmail.com)

LICENSE

This article is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License.

PUBLISHED

March 2026