Emotional Competency in Education: Special Issue on Emotional Intelligence and Creativity.

According to Salovey and Mayer (1990), having high EI allows individuals to think clearly, supports intuition and insight, and ultimately enhances creative thinking [...].

A Case Study of 21st Century Cognitive, Social and Emotional Competencies Using Online-Learning.

Based on the conceptualisation of the 21st Century Competencies Framework from the Center for Curriculum Redesign (CCR) we developed an online program to enable school-age students to increase their level on several social-emotional competencies. BE organized is a program that aims to help students to better organize themselves to be more efficient in today's and tomorrow's world. To do so, 12 individual sessions were designed to develop 4 out of the twelve 21st century competencies: Critical Thinking, Mindfulness, Resilience and Metacognition; collective sessions (action lab) to develop others such as Creativity. We used a mixed methodology, i.e., quantitative (two questionnaires) and qualitative (reflective questions) evaluation to test whether the targeted competencies have been developed during this program. Preliminary results (since it involves only a small number of participants, n = 27) partially confirm our hypotheses. Both qualitative and quantitative data show a development of critical thinking; the cross-sectional results are more mixed for the other three targeted competencies. Moreover, some other competencies, such as Creativity and Growth Mindset, seem to be developed during this program. However, it is difficult to determine whether it is the group and/or individual sessions that are responsible for these non-targeted competencies development. These results will be discussed in relation to the youth literature on 21st century competency and the broader literature on socio-emotional learning (SEL) and/or emotional intelligence (EI).

Developing Children's Creativity and Social-Emotional Competencies through Play: Summary of Twenty Years of Findings of the Evidence-Based Interventions "Game Program".

This work presents the results of four cooperative-creative game programs (Game Programs). In all four studies, experimental designs with repeated pretest-posttest measures and control groups were used. Validation samples ranged from 86 to 178 participants, randomly assigning participants to the experimental and control conditions. Before and after each program, a battery of assessment instruments was applied to measure the variables under study. The intervention consists of conducting a weekly game session during the school year. The results of the posttest covariance analyses confirmed a significant impact: (1) in social development, by increasing various positive social behaviors and decreasing many negative social behaviors; by increasing assertive cognitive strategies and prosocial resolution of interpersonal problems; and by enhancing relationships and positive communication among group members; (2) in emotional development, by improving self-concept, peer image, and emotional stability; and (3) in cognitive development, by increasing verbal intelligence, verbal and graphic-figurative creativity, as well as creative personality behaviors and traits. This work provides empirical evidence of the relevance of cooperative-creative play in child development.

Developing Children's Socio-Emotional Competencies Through Drama Pedagogy Training: An Experimental Study on Theory of Mind and Collaborative Behavior.

Drama pedagogy training (DPT) is a drama-based-pedagogy focused on socio-emotional-learning (SEL) development, over academic or artistic. This study aims to see if DPT promotes theory of mind (ToM) and collaborative behavior in 126 French children aged 9-10 years old, randomly assigned to an experimental group (DPT), either a control group for 6 weeks. Post-tests showed large effects of training on ToM, F(1, 124) = 24.36, p < .001, η² =.16, and collaborative behavior, F(1, 124) = 29.8, p < .001, η² = .19. T-test showed significant differences on ToM (t = -4.94, p < .001) and collaborative behavior (t = -5.46, p < .001), higher for DPT. Effects of type of school and grade are discussed. Results confirm the hypotheses.

Exploring Self-Consciousness From Self- and Other-Image Recognition in the Mirror: Concepts and Evaluation.

A historical review of the concepts of self-consciousness is presented, highlighting the important role of the body (particularly, body perception but also body action), and the social other in the construction of self-consciousness. More precisely, body perception, especially intermodal sensory perception including kinesthetic perception, is involved in the construction of a sense of self allowing self-other differentiation. Furthermore, the social other, through very early social and emotional interactions, provides meaning to the infant's perception and contributes to the development of his/her symbolization capacities. This is a necessary condition for body image representation and awareness of a permanent self in a time-space continuum (invariant over time and space). Self-image recognition impairments in the mirror are also discussed regarding a comprehensive developmental theory of self-consciousness. Then, a neuropsychological and neurophysiological approach to self-consciousness reviews the role of complex brain activation/integration pathways and the mirror neuron system in self-consciousness. Finally, this article offers new perspectives on self-consciousness evaluation using a double mirror paradigm to study self- and other- image and body recognition.

Fostering Children and Adolescents' Creative Thinking in Education. Theoretical Model of Drama Pedagogy Training.

Drama Pedagogy Training (DPT), as other drama-based pedagogies, has been related to several outcomes, including creativity enhancement. This enhancement is commonly proven through the measurement of different creative processes. In our review we systematize characteristics, activities and techniques of DPT that are assumed to be related to creativity in order to have a more comprehensive framework to identify the specific DPT elements that are involved in the enhancement of some of the creative processes of children and adolescents. To this end, we identified five creative processes in experimental studies using DPT: divergent thinking, fantasy and imagination, associative thinking, symbolization, and problem solving. These processes were cross referenced with DPT characteristics, activities, and techniques that were argued to be related to creativity enhancement. Our review will propose a model with two main categories and six elements as follows: (1) technical drama phases which emphasizes the role of narrative and embodiment through (a) corporal and vocal training and (b) main drama techniques (e.g., storytelling and improvisation and role-play), and (2) psycho-pedagogical framework which emphasizes the role of a dialogic space through (c) playfulness and a (d) collaborative, safe space. We also identified (e) feedback as an important element of DPT which belongs to both drama technical phases and psycho-pedagogical framework categories. Along with the model, we explain the creative outcomes associated to each of these elements as a means to attire the attention to drama-based pedagogies for the development of creativity in the educational setting.

How perspective-taking underlies creative thinking and the socio-emotional competency in trainings of drama pedagogy / Como a tomada de perspetiva está subjacente ao pensamento criativo e à competência sócio-emocional na formação em pedagogia dramática

Policy-makers and scholars agree that creativity and socio-emotional competencies can be taught, learned, and enhanced through creative arts like theatre. Nevertheless, few authors have studied the processes underlying both constructs in artistic education, which would permit to understand how children develop them and re-create adapted methodologies. Thus, we proposed to observe a drama pedagogy training for elementary school children, evaluating their creative thinking and theory-of-mind. To understand perspective-thinking as a process underlying creative thinking and theory-of-mind in the context of drama pedagogy training. Quasi-experimental pre-post-test design. Standardized tests analysis, plus thematic analysis from observation of 240 minutes recording of drama pedagogy training. Higher increase in creative thinking with a strong effect of drama pedagogy training on divergent thinking. Thematic analyses showed that drama pedagogy training activities focus mainly on socio-emotional competency (linked to theory-of-mind). Perspective-taking appears as an underlying process that explains both creative thinking and the development of socio-emotional competencies by permitting the child to see from another person's perspective, providing several ideas-solutions for a problem (creative thinking), as well as understanding other people's emotions and motivations (theory-of-mind).

Os legisladores e estudiosos concordam que a criatividade e a competência socioemocional podem ser ensinadas, aprendidas e aprimoradas através das artes criativas, como o teatro. No entanto, poucos autores estudaram os processos subjacentes a ambas as construções na educação artística, o que permitiria compreender como as crianças as desenvolvem e, assim, recriar metodologias adaptadas. Assim, propõe-se, através deste estudo, observar um Treinamento de Pedagogia Teatral para crianças do ensino fundamental, avaliando no pensamento criativo e teoria da mente ds crianças. Tem por objetivo entender o pensamento prospectivo como um processo subjacente ao pensamento criativo e à teoria da mente no contexto do Treinamento da Pedagogia Teatral. Foi utilizado o método da abordagem mista: Projeto de pré-teste quase experimental. Análise de testes padronizados mais análise temática a partir da observação de 240 minutos de registro do Treinamento da Pedagogia Teatral. Os resultados demonstraram aumento do pensamento criativo com um forte efeito do Treinamento da Pedagogia Teatral sobre o pensamento divergente. As análises temáticas mostraram que as atividades do Treinamento da Pedagogia Teatral se concentram principalmente na competência socioemocional (ligada a teoria da mente). Conclui-se que o pensamento de perspectiva aparece como um processo subjacente que explica tanto o pensamento criativo quanto o desenvolvimento de competências socioemocionais, permitindo que a criança veja da perspectiva alheia, fornecendo várias ideias-soluções para um problema (pensamento criativo), assim como a compreensão das emoções e motivações alheias (teoria da mente).