Social-emotional competence in Primary and Secondary School Teachers: A Systematic Review

Teachers' social-emotional competence have a positive impact on the teacher-student relationship, as well as on classroom management and climate; in turn, they influence students' academic results and social-emotional competence. The present study aimed to characterize theoretical and methodological elements of empirical research on social-emotional competence of elementary and secondary school teachers. The method was a systematic review of the literature of the Web of Science, Scopus and ERIC databases of the last 10 years. The sample consisted of 15 studies that met the inclusion criteria. The results showed that the research has mainly been developed in Europe, with samples of up to 200 participants, with a quantitative approach, as well as the use of 21 different instruments to measure social-emotional competence in teachers. In addition, 3 theories, 5 theoretical models and 4 different conceptualizations were identified to refer to social-emotional competence. In conclusion, there are different theoretical positions, conceptualizations and ways of measuring teachers' social-emotional competence. It is necessary to advance in empirical research based on the consensus of a theoretical model that represents the common aspects of the different theories.