Development and Evaluation of the Social-Emotional Learning Scale

Abstract

This article presents the development and evaluation of a measurement device designed to assess elementary-aged students' social-emotional learning needs. A sample of 633 fourth-, fifth-, and sixth-grade elementary students from 11 public schools in a midsized Midwestern U.S. city was used to evaluate the reliability and validity of the 20-item Social-Emotional Learning Scale (SELS) for the sample. A correlated three-factor model consisting of the factors Task Articulation, Peer Relationships, and Self-Regulation was fit using maximum likelihood estimation and found to be adequate. For the sample, the SELS demonstrated evidence of both precision and accuracy, including internal consistency as well as convergent and discriminant validity. Potential applications for the SELS and further research are discussed.