Abstract
The difficulties regarding the definition and measurement of social competences, crucial to the research in vocational education and training, are well known. In this paper, we show, based on the example of medical assistants in Germany, that these skills have to be assessed in an occupation-specific way, and develop an appropriate simulation-based Situational Judgment Test. Competence modeling, the translation into the test format and results of a data collection are discussed in detail for the dimension of communicative strategies. Based on empirical and theoretical analysis, we derived a normative competence model underlying the development of a video-based situational judgment test. The final assessment contained 2 × 6 prototypical interactional types of situations, presented in short videos. At the end of every scene, questions of multiple choice format or open questions were asked for each of the social competence dimensions (emotion regulation, perspective coordination, communication strategies). In regard to the evaluation, for the dimension of communication strategies, for example, open answers were rated by using a weighted checklist giving a final score for each situation or all over the test. After two pre-evaluations on N = 236 and N = 260 pupils at the end of their apprenticeship towards becoming medical assistants, validity aspects due to e.g. format were analyzed and edited. A final inquiry on N = 405 pupils confirmed the expected reliability and dimensionality aspects. Validity measures could additionally be confirmed by a structural equation model (N = 405, Χ2 = 594.319, df = 518, CFI = .96, RMSEA = .02 and SRMR = .07) showing unexpected but meaningful underlying factorial structures for the dimensions of emotion regulation and communication strategies. Results of the test show that emotional dissonance is present in every situation. Regarding test-scores, high levels are rarely achieved for all dimensions. By using an occupation-specific approach, we show that social competences can be defined and performance-relatedly assessed. However, results show that the competence levels are marginally satisfactory for all dimensions, considering the stressful environment of medical assistants. Hence, contents of this nature should be integrated more concretely in their educational pathway.
Highlights
The difficulties regarding the definition and measurement of social competences, crucial to the research in vocational education and training, are well known
Validity measures could be confirmed by a structural equation model (N = 405, Χ2 = 594.319, df = 518, CFI = .96, RMSEA = .02 and SRMR = .07) showing unexpected but meaningful underlying factorial structures for the dimensions of emotion regulation and communication strategies
We describe the results for our three dimensions, of which only the one on communication strategies will be discussed in full detail
Summary
The difficulties regarding the definition and measurement of social competences, crucial to the research in vocational education and training, are well known. The attempts at definitions vary, depending on the theoretical approach: In the context of developmental psychological theories, for example, emphasis is placed on adjusting social competences to social standards and rules, while the assertion of one’s own interests is more strongly stressed within the framework of clinical psychological approaches (Kanning 2005) This disagreement is further enforced by the existence of various related concepts such as “emotional intelligence”, “social skills” or “social intelligence” which make a sensible and content-based differentiation from the concept of social competence nearly impossible (Monnier 2015). Ditton and Wohlkinger (2012) for example point out that the definition problem exists for the concepts of social skills, interactional skills, being assertive, self-esteem, social- or interpersonal competence, where no clear delimitation of the concepts is possible (Döpfner et al 1981; Rose-Krasnor 1997; Arnold et al 2012) These difficulties are found in VET research (Euler and Bauer-Klebl 2009; Euler 2012; Nickolaus and Seeber 2013). In comparison to these individual dimensions, studies on the relationship between these facets working together as the composite factor of social competences, or overlapping and differing contents in different occupations are missing so far (Monnier 2015)
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