Soft Skills, Life Skills, Non-Cognitive Skills:

What We Know and Need to Know About Developing, Adapting and

Measuring these Skills

Eyerusalem Tessema MEAL & Research Specialist

Skills to SucceedSave the Children

Ann HershkowitzInternational Technical Advisor

and Project DirectorEducation Development Center

Carrie ElletRegional Advisor for Youth Empowerment

BRAC USA

Clara DelavalladeEconomist, World Bank

Africa Gender Innovation Lab

Clara Delavallade (Africa Gender Innovation Lab, World Bank)

Socio-Emotional Skills & Economic EmpowermentGYEOS October 2019

WHAT ARE SOCIO-EMOTIONAL SKILLS (SES) ?

CASEL Definition

Social and emotional learning (SEL) isthe process through which childrenand adults :

- understand and manage emotions,

- set and achieve positive goals,- feel and show empathy for

others,- establish and maintain

positive relationships,- make responsible decisions.

SOCIO-EMOTIONAL SKILLS (SES) v SOFT SKILLS, LIFE SKILLS, NONCOGNITIVE SKILLS, PERSONALITY TRAITS

Over-looping categories

SOCIO-EMOTIONAL SKILLS (SES) v SOFT SKILLS, LIFE SKILLS, NONCOGNITIVE SKILLS, PERSONALITY TRAITS

Over-looping categories

Most commonly used in Psychology and Sociology literatures : generally

excludes values, beliefs, attitudes, motivation, personality traits

Skills not directly tied to cognition (attention, memory, logic,

processing)

• Rational problem solving is a key prerequisite for SES

• Attention tied to Mindfulness, Emotional awareness, Emotional

regulation, Self control, Perseverance

More general, often include other factors (e.g. ambition, common

sense, enthusiasm…)

Include SES as well as hygiene, SRH, study skills, financial literacy, etc.

May or may not indicate the presence of SES.

Considered less mutable than SES

Socio-Emotional

skills

Soft skills

“Noncognitive” skills (often used by economists)

Life skills

Personality traits

SES

THE IMPORTANCE OF SOCIO-EMOTIONAL SKILLS

Cross-cutting skills

RECENT RESEARCH

- Personal Initiative Training improved sales and business size for entrepreneurs inUganda (Glaub et al., 2014)

- Personal Initiative Training increased profits for entrepreneurs in Togo (Campos et al.,2018)

- Training on social skills improved employment rates for female youth in theDominican Republic (Acevedo et al., 2017)

- Negotiation training improved educational outcomes for adolescent girls in Zambia(Ashraf 2017)

- Cognitive Behavioral Therapy reduced crime and violence, particularly incombination with cash, in Liberia (Blattman, Jamison, & Sheridan, 2014

Rigorous evidence that SES matter for economic outcomes in developing countries-

SES recently isolated in RCTs:

Extensive empirical research over decades, largely concentrated in Western

contexts, showing importance of SES as a whole:

• Link with health outcomes- life expectancy, SRH• Link with labor force-related skills (e.g. Deming et al., 2017)

Can we identify if particular skills are more important, and how this varies with

context/gender?

WHICH ones CAN be developed via training? Particularly after childhood?

Are particular SES foundational to the

development of other SES?

Awareness v Management

WHICH ones matter for Women v. Men? Intra v. Inter, Communal v. Agentic

WHICH ones are KEY to the Labor Market? Higher order thinking skills, social skills communication, self control, positive self concept (Lippman)

GIL RESEARCH AGENDA ON SES

Build networks for better business linkages, job leads

Negotiate better deals prices

Feel included in male-dominated sectors

Leadership skills, better managers

Negotiate decision-making at home about expanding business

Example : May beneficiaries have bigger gains whether they…

Interpersonal SES

Intrapersonal SES

IDENTIFYING IMPACTFUL SKILLS AND CORRELATIONS

Have higher self-esteem

Display a sense of initiative to look for resources

Prioritize their business and long-term returns

Are more resilient to setbacks

Show perseverance in the face of adversity

Set goals and plan strategically

Considering options & Developing an Action Plan

Self AwarenessEmotional awarenessSelf Evaluation

Social AwarenessListeningEmpathy

Self ManagementPersonal InitiativeProblem Solving

Act on plan: Intrapersonal

Self ControlEmotional RegulationPerseverance

Act on plan: Interpersonal

ExpressivenessNegotiationInterpersonal RelatednessInterpersonal InfluenceCollaboration

Key Socio-Emotional Skills

Considering options & Developing an Action Plan

Self AwarenessEmotional awarenessSelf Evaluation

Self ManagementPersonal InitiativeProblem Solving

Social AwarenessListeningEmpathy

Act on plan: Intrapersonal

Self ControlEmotional RegulationPerseverance

Act on plan: Interpersonal

ExpressivenessNegotiationInterpersonal RelatednessInterpersonal InfluenceCollaboration

Key Socio-Emotional Skills

Communication Social

High-order thinking

Self-control

Goal orientation

Positive self-concept

Self reports

HOW TO MEASURE SES

Behavioral measures

Challenge : SES are difficult to measure and each style has concerns

Anchoring Vignettes, Situational Judgement

Tests

Task-based

measures

Most commonly used in empiricalpapersEasy to administer / score

Bias: reference, acquiescence, social desirability, gameability, tied to confidence

Gameability ; Not easy to find behavioral manifestationsRecall/social desirabilitybias

Lower reference bias

Hypothetical ;

may be tied to

expressiveness

Objective;

least bias

Time-

consuming ;

Task may not

be

representative

of behavior

Specific

Soft Skills: Activity

Carrie Ellett, BRAC

Soft Skills – DefinitionsSource: YouthPower Action, November 2016

1. “Positive self-concept refers to ‘a realistic awareness of oneself and one’s abilities that reflects an understanding of his/her strengths and potential (and hence, is, positive)’ (Lippman et al., 2015).”

2. “Self-control refers to one’s ability to control and regulate oneself. This includes one’s ability to control impulses, delay gratification, direct and focus attention, and regulate and modulate emotions and behaviors.”

3. “Higher order thinking skills include problem solving, critical thinking, and decision making. They refer to the “ability to identify an issue and take in information from multiple sources to evaluate options in order to reach a reasonable conclusion” (Lippman et al., 2015).”

4. “Social skills are related to getting along with others. Social skills allow youth to interact productively in social contexts and to respond to emotions or conflict in socially appropriate, non-aggressive ways.”

5. “Communication refers to one’s ability to effectively express and understand knowledge and ideas.”

6. “Empathy refers to “the affective and cognitive ability to feel and understand what someone else is feeling” (Lippman et al., 2014a).”

7. “Goal orientation is defined as the motivation and ability to make viable plans and take action toward desired goals (Lippman et al., 2014a).”

Soft Skills - Activity

• Form groups based on cards distributed at the start

• Will receive a list of soft skills and scenarios• As a group, start by reviewing the soft skills and

their definitions• Then read each scenario and decide on the top

3 soft skills needed (will be quick!)• Once finished, send a representative up to post

stickers next to the soft skills ranking for each scenario (see color code for ranking)

Soft Skills – Activity Debrief

• Looking at the results, what is surprising and what is not surprising?

• What resonates about the results?

• Did you see differences based on where people sit in organizations - e.g. field staff or researcher?

How NOT to get into “Jeopardy”: Key Considerations for Developing

or Adapting Soft Skills Measurement Tools

Eyerusalem Tessema MEAL & Research Specialist

Skills to Succeed

Ann HershkowitzInternational Technical Advisor

and Project Director

Literature Review/Existing Tools Review

Expert Consultations

Item Writers Draft Items

Country Staff Review Draft Tool

Pilot Tool with Youth

Create Assessment Blueprint

Cognitive Interviews/Refine tool

Data Analysis/Refine ToolTool Development Process

Work Readiness Assessments Developed by EDC

WRN Credential Test Anchored Big Five Inventory

Measuring Skills @ Scale Tool

Skills measured:

Six WRN modules: personal development, communication, work habits and conduct, leadership, health and safety, and worker & employer rights and responsibilities

Big Five Factors: conscientiousness, agreeableness, neuroticism/ emotional stability, openness, and extraversion

Four overarching domains: Communications, Interpersonal Skills, Dependability, Problem Solving/Critical Thinking

Format: multiple choice, true/false, and situational judgement test items.

anchoring vignette and situational judgement questions – Likert scale response

Multiple choice

Where used: Rwanda, Guyana, Macedonia, the Philippines, Senegal

Rwanda, the Philippines Rwanda, Uganda, Tanzania, Senegal

Save the Children’s Employability Assessment Tool (EA Tool)

Positive Self-

concept

Self-Control

Social Skills

Communication Skills

Problem-Solving Skills

Job Search Skills

Format

24 itemsPre-and post test

Likert scale response

Tool Used

BangladeshUgandaBolivia

Ethiopia

PhilippinesIndonesia

MexicoVietnam

Tool Adaptation Process

Eyerusalem Tessema MEAL & Research Specialist

Skills to SucceedSave the Children

Ann HershkowitzInternational Technical Advisor

and Project DirectorEducation Development Center

Carrie ElletRegional Advisor for Youth Empowerment

BRAC USA

Clara DelavalladeEconomist, World Bank

Africa Gender Innovation Lab