Teachers’ Perceptions of Innovative Tools for the Direct Assessment of Emotional and Social Competencies: Challenges and Opportunities

Abstract

The assessment of emotional and social competencies remains a major challenge in contemporary education due to their multidimensional and context-dependent nature. While innovative technologies have been proposed as alternatives to traditional self-report methods, their integration into higher education practices remains limited. In particular, recent work by the OECD highlights three main categories of innovative tools for the direct assessment of these competencies: biophysiological measures, virtual and augmented reality, and artificial intelligence combined with digital trace analysis. However, the adoption of such approaches in educational contexts remains underexplored. This study examines higher education teachers’ perceptions of the challenges and opportunities associated with integrating these technologies for the direct assessment of emotional and social competencies within current training programmes. A qualitative approach was adopted, involving forty-six teacher educators in educational sciences selected through convenience sampling. Data were collected through an online open-ended questionnaire and analysed using content and thematic analysis. The findings reveal a gap between the recognised importance of emotional and social competencies and their practical implementation, alongside limitations of existing assessment methods and difficulties in capturing authentic behaviours. Ethical concerns, limited resources, and insufficient institutional support were also identified as key barriers. At the same time, participants highlighted the potential of innovative technologies to support more objective, continuous, and context-sensitive assessment practices. These results emphasise the need for integrated, technology-enhanced approaches supported by clear frameworks, professional development, and institutional commitment.