![]() ![]() For these reasons, we propose the cultural adaption/validation to the Italian context of 5 scales which measure some of these skills: Self-efficacy, Self-Management, Grit, Sense of Belonging and Social Awareness. And, although measures to promote SEL are widespread at the European level, to our knowledge there are still few instruments in Italian schools which regularly monitor SE skills with a SEL approach particularly amongst the adolescent middle and high school populations, as is the case in many school districts in the United States ( Kendziora and Yoder, 2016). Moreover, the earlier in age this approach is put into practice, the sooner children and youth are able to become more self/socially aware and self-determined ( Davidow et al., 2016 Denham, 2018 De Lorenzo et al., 2021).Ī SEL approach is part of a health promoting school ( Turunen et al., 2017) which means it is necessary to engage the different components of the school community (School leadership, teachers, non-teaching staff, students and parents) in order to have a shared understanding of the importance of well-being and health ( CASEL, 2017 Cefai et al., 2018 Bada et al., 2019 Velasco and Meroni, 2021). In other words, promoting socio-relational skills can help improve students’ relationships with peers and teachers and increase their satisfaction with the school experience by increasing their academic engagement ( Durlak et al., 2011), thereby reducing school dropout ( Wang et al., 2016) especially after 2 years since the start of the pandemic which has profoundly changed the way we understand schooling ( Lattke et al., 2020). When implemented as a whole-school approach, SEL can help children and youth and those in relationship with them improve their well-being (individually and as a class) by promoting academic achievement, problem-solving skills, social inclusion in school, and a reduction in bullying and antisocial behavior, leading to improved school climate ( Greenberg et al., 2003 Durlak et al., 2011). ![]() SEL is defined as how children and adults learn to understand and manage emotions, set goals, show empathy for others, build positive relationships, and make responsible decisions ( Elias et al., 1997). SEL combines theories from different models ( Payton et al., 2000) which are mostly inspired on the social–emotional dimension such as Emotional Intelligence Theory ( Goleman, 1995 Mayer and Salovey, 1997), Social Information Processing ( Crick and Dodge, 1994) and cognitive/behavior change such as problem behavior theory ( Jessor, 1991), and social cognitive theory ( Bandura, 1998) amongst others. Teaching and learning these skills in a systemic way within a school context is often referred to as social emotional learning (SEL) which benefits students’ academic performance and relationships ( Payton et al., 2000 Jones and Bouffard, 2012). In Italy, they are mainly taught under the umbrella of social and emotional education and social training ( Cefai et al., 2018). ![]() These skills are also known by many names worldwide: from non-cognitive skills, 21st Century Skills to non-academic skills and employability skills ( Jones et al., 2019). Since the 1990s, social and emotional skills have been continuously studied in school contexts both in the United States ( Elias et al., 1997 Jones and Bouffard, 2012 Kautz et al., 2021) and in Europe ( Cottini and Morganti, 2015 Cefai et al., 2018). ![]()
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