ABSTRACT
Introduction: Employability is a crucial factor in managing to emerge and changing job demands. This study validates an expanded version of the Employability Appraisal Scale: EAS-60, as an instrument to identify and improve competencies for employability. Method: The EAS-60 was tested in a cross-sectional study in a Spanish population. An exploratory study was carried out using a sample of 188 workers, and the scale's structure was analyzed and confirmed in two Confirmatory Factor Analyses using a sample of 527 workers. Finally, reliability and validity were evaluated. Results: Exploratory and confirmatory analyses provide evidence supporting the multi-dimensional structure. The scale presents good psychometric properties and criteria for interpreting the scores. Discussion: The EAS-60 is a reliable and valid instrument. It allows Human Resource Managers to offer career plans at work that include specific actions of job socialization, training, improvement of specific skills, etc. Furthermore, employees can increase their employability and develop their professional careers.
ABSTRACT
The educational inclusion of gifted students requires not only equity but also emotional accessibility and social participation. However, different studies indicate that gifted students constitute a vulnerable group (for example, the incidence of bullying is higher). Psychosocial variables are determinants for the development and expression of giftedness, particularly during adolescence. This study analyzes the impact of an inclusive extracurricular enrichment program for gifted secondary school students on the well-being of adolescents. The program was based on the enrichment model of Renzulli and Reis (2016). The objective was to develop a cluster to facilitate high-achieving learning in collaboration with teachers, administrators, and guidance counselors from their schools as well as university professors and students that would address their emotions and socialization across the board and benefit or involve their peers in their regular classrooms. The intervention took place over two years: eight sessions, one afternoon per week, for five months during each school year. The sample consisted of 47 students from the first and second years of compulsory secondary education (Educación Secundaria Obligatoria - ESO) (age, mean (M) = 12.57, standard deviation (SD) = 0.82) during the first year and 27 students from the first, second, and third years of ESO (age, M = 13.48, SD = 0.94) during the second year; 61.4% were girls. Participants completed a questionnaire before (T1) and (T3) and after (T2) and (T4) each intervention. The results show better outcomes for psychological and subjective well-being, more positive moods, and a significant reduction in school fears. The results from this study indicate the importance of educational screening and support for gifted students to promote their well-being through collaborative enrichment activities.
ABSTRACT
The psychological well-being of students affects their academic achievement, social relationships and school coexistence and is something that families worry about. This aspect becomes vital when students have atypical development and/or specific needs. Studies on the impact of giftedness on students' self-concept and self-esteem offer mixed results. Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a key factor for their well-being that must be developed by educational institutions. This study analyzes the relationships between emotional intelligence profiles and both self-concept and self-esteem of identified gifted students between 8 and 18 years of age who study in regular Spanish schools and non-identified peers. A total of 118 identified gifted and 122 non-identified subjects participated in the study. The Self-Concept Scale Form 5 (AF5), the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale (RSES), and the Trait Meta-Mood Scale-24 (TMMS-24) were administered. Clusters of students were identified on the basis of their scores in the three dimensions of EI. Subsequently, the differences in self-esteem and self-concept according to the student's emotional intelligence profile were analyzed. The results showed a taxonomy of three-cluster profiles in both groups and the existence of differences between profiles of EI in the self-esteem and self-concept dimensions in gifted students, not so in the non-identified group. The results have important implications for education and health professionals, both for the evaluation and for the introduction of adjusted intervention programs in case of vulnerability.
Subject(s)
Emotional Intelligence , Self Concept , Anxiety , Humans , Interpersonal Relations , StudentsABSTRACT
Subjective well-being (SWB) is a basic component of the health of children and adolescents. Studies of SWB in gifted students are scarce and show contradictory results. Some researchers consider these groups to be vulnerable, and according to some reports they are more often involved in situations of harassment as victims and/or harassers. Emotional intelligence (EI) is related to SWB and can be a protective factor in these situations. However, the underlying mechanism remains relatively unexplored, especially in the affective dimension of SWB. The present study develops and tests a model for the mediating role of mood in the relationship between EI and SWB. The participants were 273 Spanish students aged 8 to 18 years, distributed into two samples: sample 1, gifted students, and sample 2, unidentified students. The results showed that (1) gifted students exhibited lower scores in EI (specifically, in clarity) and SWB (specifically, in positive experiences) and higher scores on the sadness dimension of mood states and that (2) EI was positively related to SWB, and mood was a significant mediator in the relationship between EI and SWB. The mediating role of the positive mood is given in both groups; however, the negative mood only mediates this relationship in gifted students. The results are discussed, theoretical and practical contributions to the literature are proposed, and implications for parents and teachers are suggested.
