/library/oar/handle/123456789/3963 2026-05-24T20:53:47Z 2026-05-24T20:53:47Z Scully, Darina Crosbie, Nisha O’Brien, Deirdre O’Leary, Michael /library/oar/handle/123456789/146032 2026-05-04T05:46:32Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Animated situational judgement to assess students’ learning about wellbeing Authors: Scully, Darina; Crosbie, Nisha; O’Brien, Deirdre; O’Leary, Michael Abstract: Although wellbeing and social and emotional education are key components of many school curricula worldwide, there is a lack of resources to support classroom-based assessment of students’ curricular knowledge about wellbeing. This paper outlines the systematic development and validation of the Wellbeing Situational Judgement Test (WB-SJT), an animated, scenario-based assessment of students’ learning about wellbeing in the context of the Irish lower secondary Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) curriculum. Validation data (n = 316) demonstrate acceptable psychometric properties, high face validity, and positive criterion-related associations with students’ levels of connectedness, happiness and overall psychosocial function. The potential of the WB-SJT for both formative and summative assessment purposes is discussed, along with broader implications for schools’ wellbeing education.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Artuso, Caterina Farina, Eleonora Belacchi, Carmen /library/oar/handle/123456789/146031 2026-05-04T06:02:55Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: The relationship between alexithymia levels and emotional and linguistic abilities in female adolescents Authors: Artuso, Caterina; Farina, Eleonora; Belacchi, Carmen Abstract: The association between alexithymia, the difficulty in identifying, processing, and describing emotions, and linguistic competencies, particularly definitional skills, has received scant attention in research. The present study sought to investigate the bidirectional association between alexithymia and word-definition ability -a metalinguistic and metarepresentational form of explicit verbal competence- while also considering the contributions of emotional intelligence, conceptualised as implicit psychological dimensions. A sample of Italian female adolescents (N = 886; M age = 16.2 years) completed the Italian version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), a performance-based measure of emotional intelligence, and the Co.De. Scale, which evaluates the formal and content-related quality of definitions of primary and secondary emotion terms. We found an association between poorer word-definition performance and higher alexithymia scores, but also a unique negative relationship with the externally oriented thinking component. Preliminary evidence indicates the existence of a metalanguage/meta representative deficit as levels of alexithymia increase. The results highlight the value of assessing and strengthening definitional competence in emotional language as an early indicator of alexithymia risk and as a foundation for preventive and clinical interventions amongst adolescents.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Agius Tabone, Vania /library/oar/handle/123456789/146030 2026-05-04T05:49:52Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Gatekeeping, emotional labour and the motherhood penalty amongst staff in higher education Authors: Agius Tabone, Vania Abstract: Women in academia frequently encounter institutional and cultural barriers that constrain career progression, a phenomenon commonly described as the motherhood penalty. This paper examines how gatekeeping, understood as control over access to resources, opportunities, and institutional support, shapes the emotional and professional experiences of female academics and support staff at a higher education institution in Malta. The present study draws on 31 semi-structured interviews with staff who have caregiving responsibilities, complemented by documentary analysis of institutional policies. Findings are interpreted through the FRAGILE framework, encompassing Family-friendly entitlements, Resource accessibility, Autonomy, Gatekeeping, Institutional culture, Labour (emotional), and Equity. Results show that gatekeeping restricts access to family-friendly measures, intensifies emotional labour, and contributes to cumulative career penalties. Participants describe navigating complex hierarchies marked by implicit bias and uneven access to career-enhancing opportunities. The study highlights the structural and emotional consequences of informal institutional control and underscores the need for reforms that promote equity and wellbeing in higher education.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z Cefai, Carmel /library/oar/handle/123456789/146020 2026-05-04T05:39:39Z 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z

Title: Editorial [International Journal of Emotional Education, 18(1)] Authors: Cefai, Carmel Abstract: As wellbeing and social and emotional education continue to be integrated into educational systems across the globe, more attention is being paid to the assessment of social and emotional competences, particularly assessment modes making use of direct and technology-based assessment. Technology based situational judgement tests are particularly useful in providing more ecologically valid evaluation whilst being less susceptible to bias. In the first paper in this edition, Scully and colleagues (Ireland) have developed an innovative animated Wellbeing Situational Judgement Test (WB-SJT) to evaluate secondary school students’ learning of wellbeing in social and emotional education classes. The authors discuss how they developed the tool and then sought to validate it with over 300 middle school students in Ireland. The results suggest that while further work needs to be undertaken to strengthen and refine the test, its psychometric properties and contextual relevance, underline its potential for both formative and summative assessment of wellbeing and emotional education.

2026-01-01T00:00:00Z