Page 27 - Štremfel, Urška, and Maša Vidmar (eds.). 2018. Early School Leaving: Training Perspectives. Ljubljana: Pedagoški inštitut.
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The Importance of the Social and Emotional
Competencies of Educational Staff
Maša Vidmar
Synopsis
The teacher’s social and emotional competencies are linked to
healthy student-teacher relationships which, in turn, create better
student social, emotional and academic outcomes, including lower
levels of ESL. Such competencies of the teacher can be acquired in
pre-service or in-service teacher education.
Summary
Social and emotional competencies (SEC) are characterised by a
high level of self-awareness (e.g. recognising one’s own emotions),
social awareness (e.g. understanding that others may have different
perspectives), good regulation of one’s own emotion and behaviour,
relationship skills and responsible decision-making (C ASEL, 2013).
Teachers’ SEC are vital for students’ (social, emotional, academic)
outcomes and teachers’ own well-being. However, the teacher’s SEC
are often overlooked in educational research and teacher trainings.
A review of scientific findings in this article shows that teachers’ SEC
are crucial for developing healthy student-teacher relationships and
a positive classroom climate, both of which are factors protecting
against ESL. Students who perceived the relationship with teachers
negatively were found to be at greater risk of ESL (Lessard et al., 2004;
Wahlgren et al., 2015). Further, teachers with interpersonal skills
27
The Importance of the Social and Emotional
Competencies of Educational Staff
Maša Vidmar
Synopsis
The teacher’s social and emotional competencies are linked to
healthy student-teacher relationships which, in turn, create better
student social, emotional and academic outcomes, including lower
levels of ESL. Such competencies of the teacher can be acquired in
pre-service or in-service teacher education.
Summary
Social and emotional competencies (SEC) are characterised by a
high level of self-awareness (e.g. recognising one’s own emotions),
social awareness (e.g. understanding that others may have different
perspectives), good regulation of one’s own emotion and behaviour,
relationship skills and responsible decision-making (C ASEL, 2013).
Teachers’ SEC are vital for students’ (social, emotional, academic)
outcomes and teachers’ own well-being. However, the teacher’s SEC
are often overlooked in educational research and teacher trainings.
A review of scientific findings in this article shows that teachers’ SEC
are crucial for developing healthy student-teacher relationships and
a positive classroom climate, both of which are factors protecting
against ESL. Students who perceived the relationship with teachers
negatively were found to be at greater risk of ESL (Lessard et al., 2004;
Wahlgren et al., 2015). Further, teachers with interpersonal skills
27
