Socioemotional Competencies of Primary Education Teachers and Their Relationship with Attitudes Toward Inclusive...

In recent years, inclusive education in Spain has undergone significant legislative and pedagogical progress. However, its implementation still faces challenges, particularly regarding teachers' attitudes and practices. The main objective of this study was to analyze how socioemotional competencies (self-esteem, prosociality, and emotional autonomy) are related to primary school teachers' attitudes toward inclusive education. A total of 590 teachers from the Valencian Community, aged between 25 and 60 years (Mage = 33.33 years; 88.7% women), participated in the study by completing a battery of validated quantitative scales. The results indicated that most teachers exhibited medium levels across all three competencies, with significant differences by gender (higher prosociality in women and higher self-esteem in men) and teaching experience (prosociality decreased over time, while self-esteem increased). Furthermore, a positive and significant relationship was found between the three socioemotional competencies and inclusive attitudes, with emotional autonomy emerging as the strongest predictor, followed by self-esteem and, to a lesser extent, prosociality. These findings underscore the need to incorporate socioemotional competence development into teacher training programs to foster more inclusive educational environments. The implications and limitations of the relationships between the examined socioemotional competencies, inclusive attitudes, and sociodemographic and professional experience variables are discussed.