BECE. Newsletter 

Vol.10, No.2, 2022 1420 

 

 

 

 

Individual and Class Factors Influencing Students’ 

Social and Emotional Skills 

By Li, M. W., Mao, Y. Q., & Li, Y. F. 
Correspondence to: Mingwei Li, Nanjing Normal University. E-mail: 

781945994@qq.com  

OCIAL and emotional skills refer to a series of core competencies relat-

ed to self-adaptation and social development such as emotional regula-

tion, self-control, achievement motivation, and collaboration with others. 

Cultivation of students’ social and emotional skills is critical to the transfor-

mation and upgrading of basic education in the new era. Published in Con-

temporary Education Sciences, the study uses data of 2,020 students from 

Beijing and Tianjin as an analysis sample to analyze the effects of individual 

and class factors on students’ social and emotional skills by the two-level 

HLM, in response to the current public concerns with students’ comprehen-

sive education and social development. The results of the study are as fol-

lows. 

 At the individual level, female students, non-boarders and class 

leaders show higher social and emotional skills. Specifically, 

gender (β = 0.10, p < 0.01), boarding or not (β = 0.16, p < 0.05), 

and having been a class leader or not (β = 0.18, p < 0.001) signif-

icantly predict students’ level of social and emotional skills, while 

education levels and being the only child or not do not have sig-

nificant effects. 

 At the class level, there are significant inter-class differences in 

students’ social and emotional skills. Specifically, class factors 

can explain 8.5% of the total variation. In addition, the study 

finds that teacher-student relationships (γ = 0.11, p < 0.05), peer 

relationships (γ = 0.53, p < 0.001), and developing opportunities 

(γ = 0.12, p < 0.05) significantly and positively predict students’ 

social and emotional skills. 

Clarifying the effects of individual and class factors on students’ so-

cial and emotional skills can provide useful references for pertinent educa-

tion of students’ non-cognitive abilities. Based on the analysis results, the re-

searchers suggest that in developing students’ social and emotional skills, 

teachers should understand and respect differences among individuals, tailor-

ing teaching according to students’ aptitude; Meanwhile, supportive class 

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Vol.10, No.2, 2022 1421 

atmosphere and harmonious interpersonal relationships also play an im-

portant role in developing students’ social and emotional skills; Furthermore, 

extra curriculum activities in various forms should be provided for students 

to practice non-cognitive skills. 

 

Source: Contemporary Education Sciences, 2021; 2021(12):80-88.