Social and emotional competence: the concept evolution and the shift in education

Social and emotional competence: the concept evolution and the shift in education

Do Thi Dung dothidung89@student.elte.hu Faculty of Education and Psychology, Eötvös Loránd University
Summary: 
A large number of studies emphasize social-emotional competence (SEC) as crucial for children not only in their school readiness and academic achievement but also in both their concurrent and later mental and physical health, success and happiness. In the efforts of Vietnam to approach “happy school”, social and emotional education (SEE) has come to the fore as a promising school-wide intervention to promote a positive relational and inclusive school culture. Aiming to offer a foundational theory for this movement, this paper presents an overview of how SEC has been conceptualized in the literature. It analyzes and draws conclusions about the shifts in social and emotional competence conceptualization from separate abilities to multi-faceted constructs. It further describes the divergent approaches in developing SEC in schools in which SEE plays an ultimate school-wide approach broadened from social and emotional learning.
Keywords: 
social competence
emotional competence
social and emotional learning
social and emotional education.
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