Dra. Sáez-Delgado, Fabiola

The importance of socioemotional teaching skills has been highlighted for its link with better academic, social, emotional, and behavioral results of students, as well as for its contribution to the work wellbeing, mental health, and prosperity of teachers. However, there are few instruments that measure these skills in teachers in the context of their professional practice. The purpose of this research was to analyze the psychometric properties of the socioemotional Skills Instrument for Teachers (SEMS-IT). An instrumental design and a sample of 853 Chilean secondary school teachers were used. To evaluate the dimensional structure of the instrument, a portion of the sample (n = 468) underwent a network estimation method with exploratory graph analysis (EGA) using a Gaussian GLASSO model. Then, in order to confirm the structural consistency and stability of the items, the analysis was replicated in a second sample (n = 385), where these results were additionally contrasted with those of the confirmatory factor analysis (CFA). The EGA findings confirmed a structure of four dimensions and 19 items in total: (a) cognitive management of teacher emotion (four items), (b) teacher empathic concern (four items), (c) teacher–student relationship (four items), and (d) adverse classroom climate (seven items), with a 7-point Likert scale response format. The CFA showed good and acceptable fit indicators, X2(171) = 354.546 (p < 0.001), Comparative Fit Index (CFI) = 0.971, Tucker–Lewis index (TLI) = 0.966, Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) = 0.061, and Standardized Root Mean Square Residual (SRMR) = 0.062. In conclusion, a tool for the assessment of teachers’ socioemotional skills, valid for school-based educational research, is provided. Implications of the findings at the theoretical and practical levels are discussed, as well as limitations and future projections for future research.

Introduction. Even before the pandemic began, teachers faced multiple challenges such as diverse student populations with widely varying needs, excessive workloads, lack of community support, and adverse working conditions. The COVID-19 pandemic exacerbated these problems. The teachers have been increasingly susceptible to stress, anxiety, and depression. The objective of this research was to evaluate the mediation effect of coping strategies on the relationship between emotional intelligence and teachers' mental health. Method. The design was explanatory with latent cross-sectional variables. The sample was 1668 Chilean school level teachers, 331 (19.8%) were men, and 1337 (80.2%) were women; the mean age was 42.08 years (SD = 11.50). Three scale self-report were used: the emotional intelligence WLEIS, the scale DASS-21 was used to measure mental health levels y, the short version of the COPE-28, for coping strategies. Results. This study showed that high levels of anxiety, depression, and stress are significantly related to the lower emotional intelligence of teachers. The strongest relationships are between mental health variables and the emotional intelligence evaluation and regulation of emotions. The results indicated that the dimensions of emotional intelligence predicted 22%, 26%, and 23% of the variance in anxiety, depression, and stress, respectively. The estimated mediation model showed satisfactory fit indices. For anxiety, active coping and religion were mediated, and for stress, substance abuse, self-distraction and disengagement were mediated. Also, the results showed indirect effects of two maladaptive coping strategies (denial and self-blame) between the relationship of emotional intelligence the dimensions and depression, anxiety, and stress. Discussion and Conclusion. Explanatory models can be the basis for specific strategies to treat stress, anxiety, and depression in teachers. Considering the importance of the teaching role, the results of this study are useful to guide intervention actions that strengthen the management of emotions and the identification and use of effective coping strategies for the promotion of mental health.

Introduction/Objective: The resilience and emotional intelligence of teachers are crucial in order to face the daily educational challenges. To determine the association between teacher’s emotional intelligence and resilience during Emergency Remote Learning. Method: A quantitative approach and a cross-sectional predictive non-experimental design were used. Participants were 1329 teachers from Chilean schools. The WLEIS Emotional Intelligence Scale and the RS-14 resilience scale were used. Spearman correlation analyses and Yuen’s test were used for the comparative analysis by sex, and in the case of comparison by specialty the one-way ANOVA test was used; multiple regressions were performed. Results: High levels of resilience and between medium to high emotional intelligence; significant, positive and high relationship between emotional intelligence and resilience. Both in the emotional regulation variable and in the emotional intelligence variable significant differences were found regarding sex and specialty. The results of the predictive model with all emotional intelligence variables as predictors explained 43.5% of the observed variability of resilience. Conclusion: During the pandemic, teachers’ emotional intelligence and resilience are essential for facing the educational adversities and challenges that arise as a consequence of a context susceptible to constant and deregulatory change.