Situational evaluation of teachers’ social-emotional competence: Spanish version of the test of regulation in and understanding of social situations in teaching (TRUST)

Abstract

Evaluating teachers’ social-emotional competence is key to studying the effectiveness of education systems. This competence tends to be measured through self-reports, which might lead to a distorted vision. As an alternative, situational judgement tests have emerged. The present work seeks to adapt the Test of Regulation in and Understanding of Social Situations in Teaching (TRUST) to Spanish. The study involved 503 teachers from schools who teach in primary (n = 198, 106 female) or secondary education (n = 305, 201 female). Average age was 45.07 (SD = 9.94), and teachers had an average of 16.77 years’ professional experience (SD = 10.17). In addition to responding to the TRUST, those who took part also responded to the ICQ-15, TEIQue-SF, and ERQ questionnaires. Confirmatory factor analysis provided a good fit of the two-factor model (emotional regulation and relationship management): χ2 (89) = 198.49, p < .001, CFI = 0.93, TLI = 0.92, RMSEA = 0.049, 90% CI [0.040, 0.059], SRMR = 0.042, as well as reliability and convergent validity. Factorial invariance is seen to hold amongst both women and men as well as between teachers who teach at different stages of the education system. The Spanish version of TRUST emerges as a valid and reliable tool for measuring teachers’ level of social-emotional competence, both in the Spanish education system at basic levels as well as with Spanish-speaking teachers from various countries, since situations are presented which are common in any type of school.