Development of Social and Emotional Skills Among Students with Learning Difficulties: Basis for a Proposed Intervention Program

Students with learning difficulties face persistent challenges that extend beyond academics, impacting their social and emotional development, which is critical for self-regulation, relationship building, and decision-making. While interventions often prioritize academic remediation, fewer emphasize strategies that foster socio-emotional growth. This study examined the extent of students’ learning difficulties, the strategies used by teachers and parents, and the socio-emotional skills of learners in inclusive education. It also assessed differences in socio-emotional outcomes across levels of learning difficulties and the correlations between instructional strategies and specific socio-emotional domains. A descriptive-correlational design was employed, involving 42 parents and 28 teachers from Valencia City, Bukidnon, who evaluated the learning and socio-emotional profiles of 42 students. Findings revealed that students consistently experienced difficulties across perceptual and information processing, language and auditory processing, motor abilities, social and organizational skills, attention, and written language. Teachers and parents reported frequent but uneven use of strategies, while socio-emotional skills were rated at emerging to developing levels. Comparative analysis showed domain-specific differences: perceptual and information processing was significant in self-management (p = 0.012) and responsible decision-making (p = 0.007); language and auditory processing in self-awareness (p = 0.043) and relationship skills (p = 0.047); and written language in responsible decision-making (p = 0.010) and social awareness (p < 0.001). Motor abilities, social and organizational skills, and attention showed no significant effects (all p > 0.05). Correlation analysis revealed targeted associations: perceptual and information processing with responsible decision-making (r = 0.238, p = 0.029) and social awareness (r = 0.564, p < 0.001); language and auditory with self-awareness (r = 0.226, p = 0.039) and social awareness (r = 0.241, p = 0.027); motor abilities with self-awareness (r = 0.343, p = 0.001); social and organizational with responsible decision-making (r = 0.227, p = 0.038) and social awareness (r = 0.256, p = 0.019); attention with self-awareness (r = 0.342, p = 0.001); and written language with self-awareness (r = 0.327, p = 0.002) and social awareness (r = 0.252, p = 0.021). Based on these results, an intervention program was developed incorporating visual aids, structured routines, reflective writing, peer collaboration, and multisensory strategies to address domain-specific difficulties and foster socio-emotional growth in inclusive classrooms.