Socioformative pedagogical practices and academic performance in students: Mediation of socioemotional skills

This study analyzes the mastery level of educators regarding eight socioformative pedagogical practices and their impact on the academic performance of their students, aiming to identify mediating factors within a longitudinal design framework. A total of 282 university teachers from Ecuador participated, with instruments applied at two points in time: during the pandemic and at its end. Convenience sampling was employed. The results indicate an acceptable level in the development of socioformative pedagogical practices among participants, as well as in their socio-emotional skills. Regression analysis revealed the influence of various variables on socioformative pedagogical practices, such as socio-emotional skills, continuous training, academic degree, and economic level. The structural equation model established a positive association between socioformative pedagogical practices assessed during the pandemic and the academic performance of students in terms of achieving learning outcomes evaluated one year after the COVID-19 pandemic. It was also found that socioformative pedagogical practices are influenced by socio-emotional skills. The conclusion is that teachers possess a medium level in the development of their pedagogical practices but need to strengthen them to achieve an advanced level through continuous training and by obtaining higher academic degrees. Moreover, enhancing socio-emotional skills is essential for improved performance.