earticle

영어

The purpose of this study was to develop and validate a measurement tool for assessing university students’ social and emotional competence in the context of a changing higher education environment. To achieve this goal, preliminary items were constructed based on a review of previous studies and expert consultation, and both a pilot test and a main survey were conducted with university students across the country. Exploratory factor analysis revealed that social and emotional competence consisted of five factors, that is to say, self-understanding, self-regulation, relationship management, social adaptation, and emotional adaptation. Confirmatory factor analysis further verified the model’s goodness of fit and construct validity. The results indicated that university students’ social and emotional competence reflects not only developmental characteristics but also the requirements of social and emotional adaptation within university life. Accordingly, the developed scale can serve as an empirical basis for objectively diagnosing students’ levels of social and emotional competence and can provide foundational data for establishing various student support systems, including coaching, career guidance, learning support, and extracurricular programs. Furthermore, by comprehensively understanding social and emotional competence, this study contributes to the design of educational intervention models that promote the enhancement and development of such competencies among university students.