Social Competence in Higher Education Questionnaire (CCSES): Revision and Psychometric Analysis.

Abstract

Over the past decades several researches have addressed the social competence from the university setting by its importance for education and society (Hidalgo and Abarca, 1990; Johnson et al., 1991; Oberst et al., 2009). Social factors play an outstanding role in the learning process of higher education students as they are being professionally prepared to actively participate and contribute in a changing society (Del Prette et al., 1999; Marin and Leon, 2001). According to Schoon (2009), an increasing globalization and use of technologies have led to a series of socio-historical changes were social competence have been affected by the emergence of new values and lifestyles. Therefore, the development of social competence has become one of the main objectives of contemporary education systems and institutions (Gedvilienė, 2012). Universities are providing indicators for generic competences to evidence their effectiveness in terms of students’ learning outcomes (Xie et al., 2014). In fact, the European Commission (2005) considers social competence an essential and one of the most important precursors of prosperity and social well-being in its Member States. Social competence refers to display socially appropriate behaviors in different circumstances and according to the social expectations of the environment (Gresham, 1995). A socially competent person is able to optimize their social behavior depending on the available social information (Taborsky and Oliveira, 2012). This ability improves his/her interaction, social relationships (Savickas, 2005) and is based on behavioral flexibility. According to the European Parliament (2006), social competence is one of the eight key competences for lifelong learning, and refers to all behaviors that allow individuals to participate in an effective and constructive way in different environments of social and working life. Social competence in educational settings is influenced by the learning environment where highlights the ability to communicate and cooperate with each other (Gedvilienė, 2012). Successful communication and cooperation situations include a wide range of skills and behaviors as: teamwork, problem solving, decision making, facing challenges, establishing and maintaining relationships, self-control, assertiveness, responsibility, respect, creativity, or critical thinking, among others. The development of social competence from school to university years has an outstanding importance for allowing personal growth, self-esteem, and the respect for the socially established human rights. An individual with a poorly developed social competence may find difficulties to successfully interact with the events of his/her life, demonstrate positive feelings, set goals, or devise strategies, especially in adverse situations (Del Prette et al., 1999). In the last decade, several studies coincide in asserting on the importance of designs and evaluations of programs to develop social competence among higher education students (Gonzalez and Lobato, 2008; Garcia Rojas, 2010; Perez-Escoda et al., 2010). Karl-Heinz and Lindner-Muller (2012) also point out the importance of developing rational instruments for the measurement of social competence, as this is the first step taken in the study for both the social competence development and its impact on other crucial education results, as well as for the psychosocial development (Schoon, 2009). However, the development and measurement of social competence in higher education seems to face a challenge as the general organization of courses does not favor group work and educational goals at university are focused on academic knowledge (Buchs and Butera, 2015).