Development and validation of Emotional Competence Scale (ECS) for upper primary school students

Abstract

This paper is an attempt to develop and validate the Emotional Competence Scale (ECS) in order to assess the emotional competence of upper primary school students. This review was done to find the dimensions that measure emotional competence. The dimensions are classified into two broad categories, such as personal competence and social competence. Personal competence includes self-awareness, emotional awareness, emotional regulation, responsible decision-making, and trust in expressivity. Social competence includes social awareness, social skills, and relationship management. The ECS was constructed to measure emotional competence across personal and social dimensions. The scale underwent rigorous development stages, including item collection, expert validation, piloting, item analysis, and refinement. The final ECS comprised 14 items with a five-point Likert scale for responses. Reliability analysis using Cronbach's alpha and split-half reliability demonstrated high internal consistency (α = 0.70, split-half reliability = 0.77). Face and content validity were established through expert evaluations, confirming the scale's appropriateness for measuring emotional competence in upper primary school students.