Measures and References: Social Awareness & Relationship Skills

Return to Social Awareness & Relationship Skills factor page.

Measures

Numerous measures exist to gain a full picture of a student's learning strengths and challenges. Following are examples of measures used to assess this Learner Factor. These measures should be administered and interpreted by experienced professionals.

Devereux Student Strengths Assessment (DESSA) (LeBuffe, Naglieri & Shapiro, 2012): Evaluates social-emotional competencies including Social Awareness & Relationship Skills for students in kindergarten to 8th grade. It also contains a screening tool, the DESSA-mini, to identify students who may require more extensive evaluation.

Sense of Social and Academic Fit (Walton & Cohen, 2007): Self-report measures of students' sense of social and academic belonging

References

Aite, A., Berthoz, A., Vidal, J., Roell, M., Zaoui, M., Houde, O., & Borst, G. (2016). Taking a third-person perspective requires inhibitory control: Evidence from a developmental negative priming study. Child Development, 87(6), 1825-1840.

Alliance for Excellent Education. (2018). Science of adolescent learning: How body and brain development affect student learning. Retrieved from https://all4ed.org/science-of-adolescent-learning-body-brain-development/

Alliance for Excellent Education. (2018). Science of adolescent learning: Risk taking, rewards, and relationships. Retrieved from https://all4ed.org/science-of-adolescent-learning-risk-taking-rewards-and-relationships/

Barrett, M. (2018). How schools can promote the intercultural competence of young people. European Psychologist, 23(1), 93-104.

_

Biggs, E. E., & Rossi, E. B. (2021). Supporting Inclusion Through Peer Support. In Handbook of Effective Inclusive Elementary Schools (pp. 322-347). Routledge.

_

Chein, J., Albert, D., O'Brien, L., Uckert, K., & Steinberg, L. (2011). Peers increase adolescent risk taking by enhancing activity in the brain's reward circuitry. Developmental Science, 14(2), F1-F10.

Choudhury, S., Blakemore, S. J., & Charman, T. (2006). Social cognitive development during adolescence. Social Cognitive and Affective Neuroscience, 1(3), 165-174

Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL). (2003). Safe and sound: An educational leader's guide to evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) programs. Chicago, IL: CASEL.

Demaray, M. K., & Malecki, C. K. (2002). Critical levels of perceived social support associated with student adjustment. School Psychology Quarterly, 17(3), 213-241.

Demaray, M. K., & Malecki, C. K. (2003). Perceptions of the frequency and importance of social support by students classified as victims, bullies, and bully/victims in an urban middle school. School Psychology Review, 32(3), 471-490.

Farley, J. P., & Kim-Spoon, J. (2014). The development of adolescent self-regulation: reviewing the role of parent, peer, friend, and romantic relationships. Journal of Adolescence, 37(4), 433-440.

Gueldner, B. A., Feuerborn, L. L., Merrell, K. W., Castro-Olivo, S., d'Abreu, A., Furrer, J., & Widales-Benitez, O. (2020). One size does not fit all: Adapting social and emotional learning in our multicultural world. Social and emotional learning in the classroom, second edition: Promoting mental health and academic success. Guilford Press.

Immordino-Yang, M.H., Darling-Hammond, L., & Krone, C. (2018). The brain basis for integrated social, emotional, and academic development: How emotions and social relationships drive learning. Retrieved from The Aspen Institute: https://www.aspeninstitute.org/publications/the-brain-basis-for-integrated-social-emotional-and-academic-development/

Kim, J., & Cicchetti, D. (2010). Longitudinal pathways linking child maltreatment, emotion regulation, peer relations, and psychopathology. Journal of Child Psychology and Psychiatry, 51(6), 706-716.

Kowalski, R. M., & Limber, S. P. (2013). Psychological, physical, and academic correlates of cyberbullying and traditional bullying. Journal of Adolescent Health, 53(1), S13-S20.

Liu, B., Huang, Z., Xu, G., Jin, Y., Chen, Y., Li, X., ... & Jing, J. (2016). Altruistic sharing behavior in children: Role of theory of mind and inhibitory control. Journal of Experimental Child Psychology, 141, 222-228.

McMahon, S. D., Parnes, A. L., Keys, C. B., & Viola, J. J. (2008). School belonging among low-income urban youth with disabilities: Testing a theoretical model. Psychology in the Schools, 45(5), 387-401.

Mikami, A. Y., & Normand, S. (2015). The importance of social contextual factors in peer relationships of children with ADHD. Current Developmental Disorders Reports, 2(1), 30-37.

Morgan, P. L., Farkas, G., Tufis, P. A., & Sperling, R. A. (2008). Are reading and behavior problems risk factors for each other?. Journal of Learning Disabilities, 41(5), 417-436.

National Council of Teachers of Mathematics. (2000). Principles and standards for school mathematics. Reston, VA: NCTM.

Nowicki, E. A. (2003). A meta-analysis of the social competence of children with learning disabilities compared to classmates of low and average to high achievement. Learning Disability Quarterly, 26(3), 171-188.

Ometto, M., de Oliveira, P. A., Milioni, A. L., Dos Santos, B., Scivoletto, S., Busatto, G. F., ... & Cunha, P. J. (2016). Social skills and psychopathic traits in maltreated adolescents. European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 25(4), 397-405.

Punch, R., & Hyde, M. B. (2011). Communication, psychosocial, and educational outcomes of children with cochlear implants and challenges remaining for professionals and parents. International Journal of Otolaryngology, 2011, 1-10.

Rivas-Drake, D., Umaña-Taylor, A. J., Schaefer, D. R., & Medina, M. (2017). Ethnic-racial identity and friendships in early adolescence. Child Development, 88(3), 710-724.

Schwarzenthal, M., Juang, L. P., Schachner, M. K., van de Vijver, F. J., & Handrick, A. (2017). From tolerance to understanding: Exploring the development of intercultural competence in multiethnic contexts from early to late adolescence. Journal of Community & Applied Social Psychology, 27(5), 388-399.

Stipek, D. J., & Mac Iver, D. (1989). Developmental changes in children's assessment of intellectual competence. Child Development, 60, 521-538.

The Education Trust. (August, 2020). Social, emotional, and academic development through an equity lens. Washington, DC.

Van der Graaff, J., Branje, S., De Wied, M., Hawk, S., Van Lier, P., & Meeus, W. (2014). Perspective taking and empathic concern in adolescence: gender differences in developmental changes. Developmental Psychology, 50(3), 881.

Walton, G. M., & Cohen, G. L. (2007). A question of belonging: race, social fit, and achievement. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 92(1), 82.

Wolf, L. K., Bazargani, N., Kilford, E. J., Dumontheil, I., & Blakemore, S. J. (2015). The audience effect in adolescence depends on who's looking over your shoulder. Journal of Adolescence, 43, 5-14.