Young Adolescents’ Perspectives on Peers’ Social and Emotional Competence

The integration of social and emotional learning into school curricula has been linked to a number positive student outcomes, including increased academic achievement, the development healthy relationships, improved self-regulation. Rarely, however, research considered students’ perspectives on which competencies are most salient their contexts experiences. Using priori emergent coding analyze data set in nearly 2,000 young adolescents from 42 countries completed sentence starter, “I wish my friend/peers knew … ,” I examined adolescents’ perceptions peers’ competence. Findings conveyed two areas competence as central concerns: 1) awareness, with respect for difference empathy forefront; 2) responsible decision-making, an emphasis language usage inclusivity. explore significance these findings midst increasing calls transformative consider implications future teacher education.