Research Center for Social and Emotional Skills

Interest in “non-cognitive abilities,” which are mental abilities that are not measured by intelligence or academic achievement tests, has grown over the years. Various discussions have been held to clarify the meaning of the term. For example, the Organisation for Economic Development and Co-operation (OECD) (2015) has redefined non-cognitive abilities as “social and emotional skills” and considers them from the three aspects of achievement goals, working with others, and managing emotions. Although the term non-cognitive ability is widely used in society, we use the term social and emotional skills based on the OECD’s definition.
One of the reasons social and emotional skills have attracted attention is that they can predict future social outcomes. For example, Heckman (2013) reports that social and emotional skills can predict future wages, health, and crime rates. Furthermore, as suggested by the expression “skills beget skills,” social and emotional skills contribute to their further development, highlighting the importance of the early development of these skills in early childhood education and primary school education.
In Japan, the importance of social and emotional skills has also been recognized. For example, the relationship between academic achievement and social and emotional skills as well as the development of social and emotional skills through municipal surveys have been examined in Yokohama City, Saitama Prefecture, Kyoto Prefecture, and Osaka Prefecture. However, because social and emotional skills include a great variety of skills, which skills are particularly important for future academic achievement and well-being is unclear. In addition, some social and emotional skills can be developed through school education, while the others are more difficult to develop. Therefore, conducting research from the perspectives of “which skills predict future academic achievement and well-being,” “how social and emotional skills that predict academic achievement and well-being are developed,” and “how they can be developed in school education” is important.
The purpose of this research center is to (1) identify the social and emotional skills that can predict future academic achievement and well-being and (2) examine the developmental changes in these skills and how they can be fostered in school education. This study can significantly impact the educational practice by determining the skills that should be developed in school education and the methods for their development. In addition, because long-term research on social and emotional skills and methods for their development is scarce internationally, this study is world-leading and of high academic significance.