The Enlightenments of Social, Emotional, and Ethical Learning on the Development of Core Competencies in Taiwan’s 108 Curriculum

Taiwan’s education reform focuses on holistic education, covering academic, social, emotional, and moral aspects. The 108 Curriculum and Social, Emotional, and Ethical Learning both aim to develop whole-person education. However, the 108 curriculum faces implementation challenges. The purpose of the study is to explores the similarities and differences between Social, Emotional, and Ethical learning and Taiwan’s 108 curriculum, aiming to understand if they may be complementary and their implications for the practice of the 108 curriculum. The study used literature reviews and interviews with teachers. The data was collected from documents, reports, journals, and face-to-face interviews to compare social, educational, and ethical learning with Taiwan’s 108 curriculum. The study found that subject teaching and class counseling could integrate interpersonal communication and systems thinking into the 108 Curriculum, which are crucial in the development of students learning. Moreover, use of self-compiled materials and transforming circuit experiments into amplifier system designs has enhanced students’ communication abilities, motivation, and professional literacy in Social, Emotional, and Ethical learning. The paper concluded that educators, scholars, and front-line teachers can learn from the practical advantages of Social, Emotional, and Ethical to effectively improve the dilemma in the implementation of the 108 curriculum. The paper recommended that the effectiveness of applying Social, Emotional, and Ethical learning in 108 curriculums could provide specific suggestions for researchers, frontline teachers, policymakers, and students.