Competências socioemocionais no ensino superior: contribuição para o desenvolvimento da autonomia intelectual e moral

Abstract

This research was developed within the Graduate Program in Education at the Universidade do Oeste Paulista (University of Western São Paulo), in the research line Teacher Education and Professional Practice and Educational Practices. The study aimed to understand and analyze how Social and Emotional Competencies (SECs) are conceptualized and developed in higher education and to what extent they contribute to the construction of students’ intellectual and moral autonomy. The investigation examined how Higher Education Institutions promote, or fail to promote, Social and Emotional Competencies, as well as the institutional and pedagogical conditions and strategies offered to foster students’ intellectual and moral autonomy. This study is grounded in the understanding that university education should go beyond a technical-instrumental dimension, incorporating cognitive, affective, ethical, and social aspects as constitutive elements of comprehensive education. A mixed-methods (qualitative–quantitative), exploratory, and descriptive approach was adopted. Participants included students from programs in the areas of Agricultural/Biological Sciences, Architecture/Engineering, and Computing/Exact Sciences, as well as faculty members who are part of the Course Coordination Committees (Núcleos Docentes Estruturantes). Quantitative data were collected through the application of the Social and Emotional Competencies Scale for University Students and analyzed using SPSS software (version 24), employing descriptive statistics, Student’s t-test, and Pearson correlation analyses. Qualitative data were generated through semi-structured questionnaires and a focus group with faculty members and analyzed using Discursive Textual Analysis. Additionally, a documentary analysis of the Institutional Development Plan, Course Pedagogical Projects, and National Curriculum Guidelines was conducted, along with a systematic literature review following the PRISMA 2020 protocol, to provide theoretical and analytical support for the study. Quantitative results indicated higher levels in competencies related to Responsible Decision-Making and Emotional Self-Management, as well as greater potential for development in factors such as Social Awareness and Perseverance. Statistically significant differences were also found between female and male students in some scale factors. Qualitative analyses revealed that although Social and Emotional Competencies are recognized in institutional documents and faculty discourse as relevant to comprehensive education, their promotion occurs in a predominantly implicit, fragmented, and poorly systematized manner, with gaps in teacher education and pedagogical intentionality. It is concluded that Social and Emotional Competencies manifest in higher education as a formative axis still under consolidation, contributing in a relevant but non-automatic way to the development of students’ intellectual and moral autonomy. The findings indicate that strengthening SECs depends on the articulation of institutional policies, intentional pedagogical practices, and meaningful formative experiences, reaffirming the role of Higher Education Institutions in promoting comprehensive, ethical, and socially committed education.