The Effect of Social-Emotional Competency on Child Development in Western China.

Yehui Wang,Faming Wang,Yingbin Zhang,Tao Xin,Tour Liu,Zhaoxi Yang

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.01282

Abstract

This study investigated the effects of social-emotional competency on pupils’ academic achievement, academic emotions and attitudes, and interpersonal relationships. Participants were 7106 fourth-grade and fifth-grade students in western China. The results were: (1) social-emotional competency positively predicted pupils’ academic achievement (including reading, mathematics, and science); (2) social-emotional competency predicted pupils’ academic emotions and attitudes, including learning anxiety and interest, and academic emotions and attitudes played a mediating role in the relation between social-emotional competency and academic achievement; and (3) social-emotional competency positively predicted pupils’ interpersonal relationships, including peer relationships and teacher–student relationships, and interpersonal relationships played a mediating role in the relation between social-emotional competency and academic achievement. These findings highlighted the importance of social-emotional competency to child development in western China, where many children might lack their parents’ company.

Highlights

In 1994, Goleman et al proposed the concept of social-emotional learning (SEL) and set up Collaborative for Academic Social, and Emotional Learning (Collaborative for Academic Social, and Emotional Learning [CASEL], 2018)
social-emotional competencies (SEC) was positively related to all academic achievement, all learning interest, all teacher–student relationships, social preference, and social impact and was negatively related to mathematics anxiety
Mathematics academic achievement was significantly positively related to mathematics interest, social preference, social impact, and mathematics teacher–student relationship

Summary

Introduction

In 1994, Goleman et al proposed the concept of social-emotional learning (SEL) and set up Collaborative for Academic Social, and Emotional Learning (Collaborative for Academic Social, and Emotional Learning [CASEL], 2018). SEL refers to the process through which “children and adults acquire and effectively apply the knowledge, attitudes, and skills necessary to understand and manage emotions, set and achieve positive goals, feel and show empathy for others, establish and maintain positive relationships, and make responsible decisions” (Collaborative for Academic Social, and Emotional Learning [CASEL], 2018). It aims to enhance students’ core social-emotional competencies (SEC), including selfawareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills and responsible decisionmaking (DePaoli et al, 2017). Students’ SEC at the beginning of an academic year could predict their grades at

Methods

Results

Conclusion