Assessment of the level of social and emotional competencies formation in future coaches and physical education teachers in the system of professional training

Abstract

Background and Purpose. Social-emotional competencies are an essential component of the professional training of future coaches and physical education teachers, as they ensure effective interpersonal interaction, emotional self-regulation, stress resilience, and professional adaptation. Given the increasing demands placed on specialists in the field of physical culture and sport, assessing the level of social-emotional competency development and identifying its characteristics according to professional specialization has become particularly important. The purpose of the study was to assess the level of social-emotional competencies among future coaches and physical education teachers and to determine the structural characteristics of these competencies within the system of professional training. Material and Methods. The study involved 92 higher education students (age: 20.1 ± 1.3 years) from the Municipal Establishment “Kharkiv Humanitarian-Pedagogical Academy” of the Kharkiv Regional Council, enrolled in specialty A7 “Physical Culture and Sport” (Fitness specialization) and specialty A4.11 “Secondary Education (Physical Education)”. The participants were divided into Group 1 (n = 43) and Group 2 (n = 49). To assess the level of social-emotional competencies, pedagogical observation, questionnaires, interviews, and psychological testing were employed. The following indicators were examined: emotional self-regulation, stress resistance, empathy, communication skills, professional motivation, and reflective abilities. The assessment tools included Hall’s Emotional Intelligence Diagnostic Method, the Communicative and Organizational Inclinations Questionnaire (COIQ-1), Zamfir’s Professional Motivation Scale modified by Rean, and an author-developed reflective self-analysis questionnaire. Statistical data processing was performed using Microsoft Excel and STATISTICA 10 software. Descriptive statistics (mean values, M; standard error, m), Student’s t-test, and factor analysis were applied. Results. It was found that a medium level of social-emotional competencies predominated in both groups; however, Group 2 demonstrated a higher number of students with high-level indicators. Significant differences in the level of social-emotional competencies were identified between future coaches and physical education teachers. Future coaches demonstrated higher levels of emotional self-regulation, stress resistance, and professional motivation (p < 0.05–0.01), whereas future physical education teachers showed significantly higher levels of empathy, communication skills, and reflective abilities (p < 0.01). Factor analysis revealed a four-factor structure of social-emotional competencies, including the emotional-regulatory (28.42 %), social-communicative (21.89 %), motivational (14.07 %), and reflective (9.81 %) components, which together explained 74.19 % of the total variance. Conclusions. The level and structure of social-emotional competencies in future coaches and physical education teachers are determined by the specific characteristics of their professional training. Future coaches demonstrated stronger emotional-regulatory and motivational competencies, whereas future physical education teachers showed better developed communicative, empathic, and reflective competencies. The identified factor structure confirms the multidimensional nature of social-emotional competencies and highlights the leading role of emotional-regulatory and social-communicative components. The findings support the need for the targeted integration of social-emotional learning into professional training programs for future specialists in physical culture and sport.