https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/143617 2026-04-30T11:54:34Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/146032 Title: Animated situational judgement to assess students’ learning about wellbeing Authors: Scully, Darina; Crosbie, Nisha; O’Brien, Deirdre; O’Leary, Michael Abstract: Although wellbeing and social and emotional education are key components of many school curricula worldwide, there is a lack of resources to support classroom-based assessment of students’ curricular knowledge about wellbeing. This paper outlines the systematic development and validation of the Wellbeing Situational Judgement Test (WB-SJT), an animated, scenario-based assessment of students’ learning about wellbeing in the context of the Irish lower secondary Social, Personal and Health Education (SPHE) curriculum. Validation data (n = 316) demonstrate acceptable psychometric properties, high face validity, and positive criterion-related associations with students’ levels of connectedness, happiness and overall psychosocial function. The potential of the WB-SJT for both formative and summative assessment purposes is discussed, along with broader implications for schools’ wellbeing education. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/146031 Title: The relationship between alexithymia levels and emotional and linguistic abilities in female adolescents Authors: Artuso, Caterina; Farina, Eleonora; Belacchi, Carmen Abstract: The association between alexithymia, the difficulty in identifying, processing, and describing emotions, and linguistic competencies, particularly definitional skills, has received scant attention in research. The present study sought to investigate the bidirectional association between alexithymia and word-definition ability -a metalinguistic and metarepresentational form of explicit verbal competence- while also considering the contributions of emotional intelligence, conceptualised as implicit psychological dimensions. A sample of Italian female adolescents (N = 886; M age = 16.2 years) completed the Italian version of the Toronto Alexithymia Scale (TAS), a performance-based measure of emotional intelligence, and the Co.De. Scale, which evaluates the formal and content-related quality of definitions of primary and secondary emotion terms. We found an association between poorer word-definition performance and higher alexithymia scores, but also a unique negative relationship with the externally oriented thinking component. Preliminary evidence indicates the existence of a metalanguage/meta representative deficit as levels of alexithymia increase. The results highlight the value of assessing and strengthening definitional competence in emotional language as an early indicator of alexithymia risk and as a foundation for preventive and clinical interventions amongst adolescents. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/146030 Title: Gatekeeping, emotional labour and the motherhood penalty amongst staff in higher education Authors: Agius Tabone, Vania Abstract: Women in academia frequently encounter institutional and cultural barriers that constrain career progression, a phenomenon commonly described as the motherhood penalty. This paper examines how gatekeeping, understood as control over access to resources, opportunities, and institutional support, shapes the emotional and professional experiences of female academics and support staff at a higher education institution in Malta. The present study draws on 31 semi-structured interviews with staff who have caregiving responsibilities, complemented by documentary analysis of institutional policies. Findings are interpreted through the FRAGILE framework, encompassing Family-friendly entitlements, Resource accessibility, Autonomy, Gatekeeping, Institutional culture, Labour (emotional), and Equity. Results show that gatekeeping restricts access to family-friendly measures, intensifies emotional labour, and contributes to cumulative career penalties. Participants describe navigating complex hierarchies marked by implicit bias and uneven access to career-enhancing opportunities. The study highlights the structural and emotional consequences of informal institutional control and underscores the need for reforms that promote equity and wellbeing in higher education. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z https://www.um.edu.mt/library/oar/handle/123456789/146020 Title: Editorial [International Journal of Emotional Education, 18(1)] Authors: Cefai, Carmel Abstract: The papers in the current edition illustrate the Journal’s versatility and broad reach both in terms of academic areas of study and cross-cultural contexts. The papers include an experimental study on cognitive processes underlying text anxiety amongst engineering students in Mexico, a survey study examining the protective and risk factors of Bicycle Motocross amongst young people and adults in Australia, a study on how affective empathy and self-compassion mediate the emotional problems faced by adolescents in Vietnam, an evaluation of a social and emotional programme in Portugal, a study on emotional competencies and emotional coeducation amongst university students in Spain, a phenomenological study on the experiences of Syrian refugee children living in Turkey, and a detailed psychometric analysis on the adaptation and validation of a scale for early educators in Turkey. 2026-01-01T00:00:00Z