Promoting Educators’ Social and Emotional Competence: A Pilot Study Using a Pre-Post Design
Abstract
The main aim of the study was to compare five core components of social-emotional competence (SEC: self-awareness, self-regulation, positive relationship, conflict management, and responsible decision making) among Estonian educators (teachers and social pedagogues) who participated in an in-service training course at two time points – at the beginning and end of the social-emotional learning (SEL) intervention. A longitudinal pre-post research design was employed in a sample of 74 Estonian teachers and social pedagogues using the Social and Emotional Competence Assessment Battery for Adults (SECAB-A) with the additional aim of adapting and validating this multi-component self-report measure in an Estonian sample. The developed SEL group-based intervention was delivered in the form of an in-service training course, which included five sessions as 60-h program for educators’ career development for four months. Results showed a significant increase in participant educators’ self-reported social and emotional competence components in terms of self-awareness, self-regulation, positive relationship, conflict management, and responsible decision making, which demonstrated the positive effect of the pilot SEL intervention. This study contributes to a growing body of research which reinforces the importance of investing in SEL interventions to improve educators’ social-emotional competence.
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About this article
Publisher
Emanate Publishing House Ltd.
Volume
2
Print ISBN (optional)
-
Edition Number
1st Edition
Pages
1-53
Subjects
Education, educational psychology, education and technology, education and AI, pedagogy, teacher education
Cite this article as:
Kõiv, K., Aia-Utsal, M., & Jõgi, A. (2026). Promoting Educators’ Social and Emotional Competence: A Pilot Study Using a Pre-Post Design. In Z. Bekiroğulları (Ed.), Proceedings of the 16th International Conference on Education and Educational Psychology (ICEEPSY 2025), vol 2. Emanate - Educational Sessions Highlights (pp. 1-11). Emanate Publishing House Ltd.. https://doi.org/10.70020/eesh.2026.05.1