Self-Assessment of Future Preschool Teachers’ and School Teachers’ Knowledge of the Social-Emotional Competencies of Children in Early Childhood, Preschool Children, and Primary School Children

Abstract

Although investing in the cognitive aspect of a child’s development (school, additional educational activities, etc.) is of exceptional importance, existing research findings and practice indicate that a child’s life success significantly depends on the area of social-emotional development. Social-emotional development skills are a prerequisite for the development of social-emotional competencies, which, according to the CASEL conceptualization (Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning), refer to a set of abilities, skills, and knowledge essential for initiating and maintaining mutual and fulfilling relationships with others. Given that these skills represent one of the prominent developmental tasks that educators and teachers should stimulate in the upbringing and education of children, the aim of this research was to determine the self-assessments of future educators’ and teachers’ knowledge about social-emotional competencies during childhood. Research in this area is scarce, and it has been shown that social-emotional competencies represent a protective factor in development. For the purposes of this research, a Self-Assessment Questionnaire on Knowledge of Children’s Social-Emotional Competencies was developed. The results indicate that students report moderate levels of self-assessed knowledge about social-emotional competencies, with differences observed in self-assessed knowledge levels depending on the year of study. Senior students report higher levels of knowledge compared to junior students. Investigating the existing levels of knowledge in this area is of great importance to formulate higher educational programs aimed at strengthening the competencies of educators and teachers in fostering children’s social-emotional competencies in daily educational practice, based on the obtained results.