This study presents the construction and validation of an instrument for assessing social and emotional competencies in adolescents. The Social and Emotional Competences Evaluation Questionnaire (QACSE) is based on three previous instruments and constructed according to the theoretical framework proposed by the Collaborative for Academic, Social and Emotional Learning (2005).
The questionnaire was validated in a sample of 683 high middle school students (7th to 9th grade), with an average age of 12.91 years. Six teachers also participated by filling the teacher version regarding 111 students on the sample. Results showed that the QACSE presents good levels of reliability and validity; including a sound five dimension factor structure.
The final version of the QACSE is composed by 39 items, organized into five scales that assess the following social and emotional competencies: self-control, social awareness, relationship skills, social isolation and social anxiety. The QACSE takes around 10 minutes to fill and is appropriate for individual or group use for the evaluation of the aforementioned competencies. This questionnaire assesses most of the key competencies identified by the Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning (2012).