Advances in Research on Social and Emotional Learning and Its Value in Supporting Academic and Workforce Outcomes

A special issue of Journal of Intelligence (ISSN 2079-3200).

Deadline for manuscript submissions: closed (31 July 2023) | Viewed by 5915

Special Issue Editors

Department of Psychology, University of Texas at Arlington, Arlington, TX 76019, USA
Interests: situational judgment tests (SJTs); interviews; performance-based assessment; personnel selection; noncognitive skills
Educational Testing Service, Princeton, NJ 08541, USA
Interests: social and emotional learning; noncognitive skills; assessment; program evaluation; higher education

Special Issue Information

Dear Colleagues,

Social–emotional learning (SEL) is characterized by five key competencies, including self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision making (CASEL, 2019). Children and adults alike need to demonstrate effective intrapersonal and interpersonal SEL competencies to achieve success in their academic and subsequent workforce trajectories. SEL competencies and interventions are also linked with increased academic achievement and prosocial behavior (e.g., Taylor et al., 2017), characteristics increasingly valued in labor markets (Jones, McGarrah and Kahn, 2019). Considering the educational challenges and disparate impacts of the ongoing pandemic (Department of Education, 2021) as well as increasing political polarization throughout the world (Levin, Milner, and Perrings, 2021), it is also important to recognize connections between social and emotional competencies and civic learning and engagement (Hamilton and Kaufman, 2022; Jagers et al., 2019).

This Special Issue aims to further advance knowledge about how intra- and interpersonal SEL competencies can support success in academic, workforce, and other sociopolitical contexts. Examples of article topics could include advances in the assessment or evaluation of SEL competencies in relationship to outcomes, reports on intervention studies or natural experiments, literature reviews on key issues of importance to the field, international or cross-cultural studies of SEL, etc. We welcome contributions in the form of novel empirical studies, analyses of large-scale or other existing datasets, meta-analyses or other systematic reviews, and/or conceptual or theoretical papers.

Dr. Michelle Martín-Raugh
Dr. Samuel Rikoon
Guest Editors

Manuscript Submission Information

Manuscripts should be submitted online at www.mdpi.com by registering and logging in to this website. Once you are registered, click here to go to the submission form. Manuscripts can be submitted until the deadline. All submissions that pass pre-check are peer-reviewed. Accepted papers will be published continuously in the journal (as soon as accepted) and will be listed together on the special issue website. Research articles, review articles as well as short communications are invited. For planned papers, a title and short abstract (about 100 words) can be sent to the Editorial Office for announcement on this website.

Submitted manuscripts should not have been published previously, nor be under consideration for publication elsewhere (except conference proceedings papers). All manuscripts are thoroughly refereed through a double-blind peer-review process. A guide for authors and other relevant information for submission of manuscripts is available on the Instructions for Authors page. Journal of Intelligence is an international peer-reviewed open access monthly journal published by MDPI.

Please visit the Instructions for Authors page before submitting a manuscript. The Article Processing Charge (APC) for publication in this open access journal is 2600 CHF (Swiss Francs). Submitted papers should be well formatted and use good English. Authors may use MDPI's English editing service prior to publication or during author revisions.

Published Papers (3 papers)

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Research

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16 pages, 365 KiB  
Article
Social and Emotional Skills Predict Postsecondary Enrollment and Retention
by Kate E. Walton, Jeff Allen, Maxwell J. Box, Dana Murano and Jeremy Burrus
J. Intell. 2023, 11(10), 186; https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11100186 - 22 Sep 2023
Viewed by 1194
Abstract
Introduction. Social and emotional (SE) skills are known to be linked to important life outcomes, many of which fall into the academic domain. For example, meta-analytic data show that the skill of Sustaining Effort is nearly or just as important for academic performance [...] Read more.
Introduction. Social and emotional (SE) skills are known to be linked to important life outcomes, many of which fall into the academic domain. For example, meta-analytic data show that the skill of Sustaining Effort is nearly or just as important for academic performance as intelligence. In a recent study with long-term tracking of high school students, those who came from schools with a strong emphasis on SE skill development were more likely to enroll in college within two years of high school graduation. Longitudinal studies like this one are rare, however. Method. The focus of the present study is on the SE skills of 6662 students assessed during high school and their relationship with high school academic performance, standardized college admissions test performance, and ultimately postsecondary enrollment and retention. Results. We examined mean-level differences in household income, high school GPA, ACT Composite scores, and SE skills by college enrollment and retention status and found several significant differences, often favoring the enrolled or retained group. Moreover, we found support for the incremental validity of SE skills as they predicted enrollment and retention above household income, high school GPA, and ACT scores. Discussion. Understanding SE skills’ effects on later academic outcomes is important to help inform early SE skill intervention and development efforts in secondary and postsecondary settings. Additional implications and future directions are discussed. Full article
15 pages, 331 KiB  
Article
Social and Emotional Learning and Ninth-Grade Students’ Academic Achievement
by Jessica L. Atkins, Teresa Vega-Uriostegui, Daniel Norwood and Maria Adamuti-Trache
J. Intell. 2023, 11(9), 185; https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11090185 - 19 Sep 2023
Viewed by 2324
Abstract
A central component of adolescents’ social and emotional learning (SEL) consists of their ability to foster positive relationship skills through connectedness with their school community. This study focuses on the assessment of student’s SEL competencies in relation to their socio-demographic characteristics, formal and [...] Read more.
A central component of adolescents’ social and emotional learning (SEL) consists of their ability to foster positive relationship skills through connectedness with their school community. This study focuses on the assessment of student’s SEL competencies in relation to their socio-demographic characteristics, formal and informal socialization behaviors, and academic outcomes in both public and private schools. The research is based on the secondary analysis of large-scale nationally representative data from the High School Longitudinal Study of 2009 (HSLS:2009) and focuses on ninth graders experiencing the transition to secondary education. Guided by both SEL and school climate frameworks, we identified survey items that describe students’ feelings of acceptance, pride, and support in their grade nine learning environment as indicators of perceptions of school climate and builders of SEL skills and used multivariate statistical analysis to examine how SEL skills and behavioral socialization affect school achievement. Study findings should inform school practitioners in developing academic and socio-cultural programs that incorporate SEL skills development. Full article

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15 pages, 1120 KiB  
Essay
Reconceptualizing Social and Emotional Competence Assessment in School Settings
by Nathaniel von der Embse, Stephen Kilgus, Carly Oddleifson, Jason D. Way and Megan Welliver
J. Intell. 2023, 11(12), 217; https://doi.org/10.3390/jintelligence11120217 - 22 Nov 2023
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Abstract
The mental health needs of youth are both significant and increasing. Recent advancements have highlighted the need to reduce psychological distress while promoting the development of important social and emotional competencies. Current social and emotional assessment tools are limited in important ways that [...] Read more.
The mental health needs of youth are both significant and increasing. Recent advancements have highlighted the need to reduce psychological distress while promoting the development of important social and emotional competencies. Current social and emotional assessment tools are limited in important ways that preclude their widespread use. In the current article, these limitations are discussed. A novel social and emotional learning assessment framework guided by methodological and theoretical innovations is presented. Future research directions and opportunities are discussed. Full article
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