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This study presents the findings of a systematic review of measures of social and emotional skills for children and young people. The growing attention to this area in recent years has resulted in the development of a large number of measures to aid in the assessment of children and young people. These measures vary on a number of variables relating to implementation characteristics and psychometric properties. The methodology of the review followed the general principles of systematic reviewing, such as systematic search of databases, the adoption of predetermined set of inclusion and exclusion criteria, and a multistage filtering process. The review process resulted in the retention of 12 measures, which are presented and discussed in relation to key issues in this area, including difficulties with the underlying theory and frameworks for social and emotional skills, inconsistent terminology, the scope and distinctiveness of available measures, and more practical issues such as the type of respondent, location, and purpose of measurement.

Recent policy developments (such as the Children's Plan) and the introduction of a new national strategy (the Social and Emotional Aspects of Learning programme) have re-emphasised the importance of social and emotional skills in educational contexts. As such, educational psychologists are increasingly likely to be involved in the measurement of social and emotional skills, either as part of their case-work or through research. They may also be asked to provide advice to schools looking to evaluate certain aspects of their practice in this area. The aim of this paper is to provide a discussion of key issues in the measurement of social and emotional skills in children and adolescents. These include: difficulties with the underlying theory and frameworks for social and emotional skills, inconsistent terminology, the scope and distinctiveness of available measures, psychometric properties, and more practical issues such as the type of respondent, location and purpose of measurement. The paper concludes with a call for more research and the further development of appropriate measures.

Teachers are probably the main group of professionals with whom school psychologists1 have most contact. Teachers are usually involved in making referrals of individual children, they may be expected to act on the advice of the school psychologist and they also work with school psychologists in consultation-based activities. It is therefore important to ascertain their views about the work of school psychologists in order for services to move forward in an evidenced informed manner. This article discusses the findings of a survey of teachers’ views of school psychologists in eight countries. A total of 1105 teachers completed a questionnaire that yielded quantitative and qualitative data. Findings suggest that there is considerable variation between countries in the amount of time school psychologists spend in schools and that this is related, though perhaps not as strongly as might be predicted, to the extent to which teachers value their services. Overall, teachers appreciate the quality of the service they receive from school psychologists although they would like to see more of them. In addition, they would like school psychologists to spend more time on activities that they currently undertake less frequently. There were also concerns in the UK and the USA about the large amount of time school psychologists spend on testing and assessments for special education. There are key implications from these findings for school psychology services in different countries as they strive to improve their services and meet the needs and expectations of teachers.

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