Gratitude As a Social-Emotional Learning Practice: A Narrative Synthesis of Research and Experience

Abstract

As adolescents face mounting academic pressure, Social and Emotional Learning (SEL), though widely implemented, often slips into an “obedience trap”: one that emphasizes compliance over genuine student autonomy. Grounded in Self-Determination Theory (SDT) and a proposed four-tier “inside-out” model, this paper utilizes a narrative synthesis to critically examine four specific gratitude-based interventions: journaling, meditation, respiratory exercises, and emotional verbalization. The analysis shows that when these practices are offered as voluntary choices instead of top-down requirements, they effectively strengthen students’ self-regulation and psychological safety. Overall, this study holds that fostering students’ intrinsic motivation and emotional literacy requires abandoning coercive classroom management strategies and adopting instructional approaches that support learner autonomy. This research further indicates that such practices can only exert positive effects when they are delivered as engaging educational resources rather than compulsory classroom management tools. This paper provides practical pedagogical implications for the implementation of autonomy-supportive social-emotional learning. In addition, it identifies the lack of long-term empirical evidence and suggests conducting long-term longitudinal studies to verify the sustained impacts of relevant practices on students’ academic performance and personal development in regular secondary school settings.