Which Social-Contextual Factors Best Predict Students’ Socio-Emotional Skills? A Machine Learning Study (Poster 30)

• In Event: Thursday Poster Session 9:00 am
  In Poster Session: Social and Emotional Learning

Abstract

This study analyzed the role of the social context including classroom, school, and family-related factors in predicting social and emotional learning skills. Participants were 6,037 15-year-old Hong Kong students. Machine learning analysis was used to analyze the data. Results revealed that classroom- (i.e., stimulating instruction), school- (i.e., school belonging and learning attitudes), and family-related factors (i.e., socioeconomic status) were important for five socio-emotional skills. In particular, responsible decision-making and social awareness were negatively predicted by school discrimination, while self-management was positively predicted by direct instruction. Self-awareness was positively linked to parental emotional and learning support, and relationship skills were best predicted by school cooperation. The study provides crucial insights into key social-contextual factors impacting social and emotional learning skills.

Authors

• Lingyi Fu, University of Hong Kong

• Yi Wang, Macau University of Science and Technology

• Ronnel B. King, Chinese University of Hong Kong