Abstract

Objectives: This study developed and validated the Al-Zu'bi Integrated Social and Emotional Learning Scale (AZ-SEL-S) for children aged 4-8 years and tested whether the Al-Zu'bi Integrated Social and Emotional Learning Framework (AZ-SEL) offers an empirically coherent multidimensional representation of social and emotional learning. Methods: A cross-sectional psychometric design was applied to data from a stratified sample of 1,200 children enrolled in public and private educational settings in Jordan. Validation included expert appraisal, content validation, exploratory factor analysis (EFA), exploratory structural equation modeling (ESEM), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA), reliability estimation, convergent and discriminant validity testing, known-groups comparisons, measurement invariance by gender and age, and normative score construction. Results: Expert appraisal showed strong agreement on item relevance and representativeness. EFA, ESEM, and CFA yielded consistent support for a four-factor structure: Emotional-Cognitive System, Social-Relational System, Integrated Self-Regulation, and Contextual Interaction. Reliability estimates and convergent and discriminant validity indicators satisfied accepted psychometric criteria across dimensions. The scale distinguished children with different levels of social-emotional competence and showed configural, metric, scalar, and strict invariance across gender and age groups. Conclusions: The AZ-SEL-S showed strong psychometric quality and provides a multidimensional assessment of social and emotional learning in early childhood. The findings also provide initial support for the AZ-SEL Framework by showing how emotional, social, self-regulatory, and contextual processes jointly contribute to children's social and emotional development.