Using Third-Party Evaluations to Assess Socioemotional Skills in Graduate School Admissions

Consideration of socioemotional skills in admissions potentially can increase representation of racial and ethnic minorities and women in graduate education as well as identify candidates more likely to succeed in graduate school. Research on one such assessment, the ETS Personal Potential Index (PPI), showed that the PPI produced much smaller racial/ethnic-gender group mean score differences than undergraduate grade point average (UGPA) and the Graduate Record Examinations (GRE) did. Across levels of institutional selectivity, the PPI can promote racial/ethnic and gender diversity in graduate and professional school in ways that UGPA and GRE scores do not. Predictive validity analyses showed that for doctoral STEM programs the PPI dimensions of (i) Planning and Organization and (ii) Communication Skills positively predict graduate school grade point average as well as a lower risk of academic probation, a determinant of degree progress, both alone and incrementally over UGPA and GRE scores.

Social Mobility and Human Capital in Low- and Middle-Income Countries

Parental human capital and endowments may affect children’s human capital, which in turn may affect children’s income and thus social mobility. This chapter focuses on what we know about these links in low- and middle-income countries. It starts with definitions of human capital and endowments and simple frameworks for guiding summaries of what we know and do not know about these links. It discusses determinants of children’s human capital in the form of cognitive skills, socioemotional skills and health, which pertain directly to some indicators of social mobility; reviews estimates of impacts of these forms of human capital, which pertain to some other indicators of social mobility, such as income; and concludes with a summary suggesting some positive impacts of parental human capital and endowments on social mobility in low- and middle-income countries, policy implications, and gaps in the literature pertaining to both data and methodology.

Exploring the Relationship between Socioemotional Skills and Decision-Making Styles in Health Students

Higher education in health study programs is particularly focused on the development of technical skills, despite there being a consensus on the importance of training students regarding socioemotional and life skills. The aim of this study was to characterize and explore correlations between socioemotional skills and decision-making styles in undergraduate health students. Undergraduate students (18–25 years old) were recruited at a School of Health Sciences in Portugal. Participants were characterized in terms of sociodemographic data, socioemotional skills (Study on Social and Emotional Skills questionnaire) and decision-making styles (Melbourne Decision Making questionnaire). Descriptive statistics and correlations between questionnaires´ subscales were calculated. Students presented higher scores in tolerance (34.8±3.4), cooperation (34.7±2.4), empathy (31.1±3.2), vigilance (16.0±1.9), and procrastination (9.9±2.1). Assertiveness presented negative correlations with buck-passing (rho=-0.43, p<0.01) and procrastination (rho=-0.38, p<0.01) and positive correlation with vigilance (rho=0.22, p=0.03). Students demonstrated higher values in empathy, cooperation, and tolerance skills, meaning they tend to be kind and care for others’ well-being. Vigilance style is related to assertiveness characterizing hard working leaders able to pay attention to others’ needs. Training that involves socioemotional skills might be crucial for the style of decision-making in future health professionals.

ACEs in Early Childhood: Effects of Parental Substance Abuse on Socioemotional Development and Ways to Administer Quality Education to Children with ACEs

The current study focuses on the effects of parental substance abuse within the home environment and the resulting outcome for early childhood development in socioemotional skills and learning potential in educational, emotional, and social realms. Impaired neurological/brain development, cognitive functioning delays, and lack of proper practice with social cues (particularly in areas concerning synaptogenesis) are assessed in terms of systematic setbacks and barriers in childhood education. Further, this study considers strategies for combatting these impediments and proposes a plan for schools to implement in order to administer higher quality education to children with adverse experiences.

Does Music Training Improve Emotion Recognition Abilities? A Critical Review

There is widespread interest in the possibility that music training enhances nonmusical abilities. This possibility has been examined primarily for speech perception and domain-general abilities such as IQ. Although social and emotional processes are central to many musical activities, transfer from music training to socioemotional skills remains underexplored. Here we synthesize results from studies examining associations between music training and emotion recognition in voices and faces. Enhancements are typically observed for vocal emotions but not for faces, although most evidence is cross-sectional. These findings are discussed considering the design features of the studies. Future research could explore further the neurocognitive mechanisms underlying musician-related differences in emotion recognition, the role of predispositions, and the implications for broader aspects of socioemotional functioning.

IS IT POSSIBLE TO DEVELOP SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL SKILLS OF ADOLESCENTS? EVIDENCE FROM BRAZILIAN PROGRAM

There are scarce but relevant researches stating the importance of educatingsocioemotional competencies to the youth as it impacts individual’s success in life, andwhat is even more scarce is the analysis of the results and impact of programs that worktowards that educational goal, either implemented though public policies and Government funded projects. This paper seeks to evaluate the impact of the Academia EducarProject in 2016, focusing on its’ development of socioemotional skills on students usingthe methods of propensity score matching and differences in differences. Positive andsignificant effects were found on sociability (12% of initial value), assertiveness (16% ofinitial value) and political participation (double the initial percentage of treaties interested in participating in the country’s policy). The results for locus control and imaginative variables were significant and in the direction expected only in part of the specifications; for volatility, the results do not suggest impact. Several robustness analyzes wereperformed to validate the results found.

Alfabetização das Competências Socioemocionais na Educação Infantil: Habilidades para a Vida / Literacy of Socioemotional Skills in Early Childhood Education: Life Skills

Resumo: No ensino das habilidades socioemocionais na educação infantil tanto as crianças, quanto os professores, aprendem a melhor controlar seu emocional e desenvolver habilidades. Sendo assim, também cabe aos educadores agirem como mediadores do conhecimento, entretanto, utilizando-se de estratégias que melhor contribuirá para a formação dos alunos, visto que estes são reconhecidos pelas crianças como modelos. Nesse cenário, o presente estudo tende a responder o seguinte questionamento: De que forma os professores podem trabalhar competências socioemocionais na educação infantil? Como objetivo geral, o estudo pretende verificar a possibilidade de os professores da modalidade de educação infantil trabalharem competências socioemocionais em sala de aula com a faixa etária de 3 a 6 anos. Utilizou-se para esse estudo a pesquisa bibliográfica sistemática de caráter exploratório e cunho qualitativo, realizada por meio de consultas em livros e artigos científicos. No entorno geral da temática, conclui-se que, as competências socioemocionais são de grande relevância e devem ser inseridas no contexto escolar começando desde a modalidade de educação infantil, pois comprova-se que tais competências causa um grande impacto benéfico no desempenho acadêmico da criança, nas quais interferem diretamente no processo de aprendizagem, bem como nas suas relações humanas durante suas vivências tanto nas questões intrapessoais quanto nas interpessoais.