Revista de Comunicación de la SEECI (2024).

ISSN: 1576-3420

Received: 05/28/2024 --- Accepted: 06/14/2024 --- Published: 06/26/2024

SOCIAL AND COMMUNICATIVE SKILLS, EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND NEUROEDUCATION: NEW TRENDS IN TEACHER TRAINING

HABILIDADES SOCIALES Y COMUNICATIVAS, INTELIGENCIA EMOCIONAL Y NEUROEDUCACIÓN: TENDENCIAS EN LA FORMACIÓN DEL PROFESORADO

Marta Abadanes Sánchez: European University of Madrid.

How to cite this article:

Abadanes Sánchez, Marta (2024). Social and communicative skills, emotional intelligence and neuroeducation: new trends in teacher training [Habilidades sociales y comunicativas, inteligencia emocional y neuroeducación: tendencias en la formación del profesorado]. Revista de Comunicación de la SEECI, 57, 1-20. https://doi.org/10.15198/seeci.2024.57.e881

ABSTRACT

Introduction: As we know in the 21^st century, the work of teachers in the classroom has become more complicated in recent years. Higher education teachers must meet standards in competencies and learning outcomes according to the official qualification and subject guide. But it is also necessary to become a neuroeducator in the classroom to not only transmit content but also skills to your students. For years, techniques have been used that are helping to meet the requirements of the subjects and the attention of the students, such as emotional intelligence, active listening, feedback, etc. In this article the objective will be to investigate the relationship between communication techniques, neuroeducation and emotional intelligence, to improve the teaching-learning method. Methodology: In the methodology, a descriptive analysis has been used to analyze the different definitions of each discipline and work have been done qualitatively to know what the students think about their teachers' communication. Results: It is evident that students need more participatory and motivating classes. Discussion and conclusions: As first conclusions, it is confirmed that the teacher is a true expert in knowledge of his subject, but the students may perceive little empathy and little assertiveness towards them.

Keywords: neuroeducation; higher education; emotional intelligence; teachers; skills.

RESUMEN

Introducción: Es sabido que en pleno siglo XXI, la labor de los docentes en el aula se ha complicado en los últimos años. El docente de la educación superior debe cumplir con unos estándares en competencias y resultados de aprendizaje según titulación oficial y guía de la asignatura. Pero también se hace necesario que se convierta en un neuroeducador en el aula para conseguir no solo transmitir contenidos sino también competencias en sus alumnos. Durante años se han utilizado técnicas que están ayudando a cumplir con los requisitos de las materias y la atención de los alumnos como son la inteligencia emocional, la escucha activa, el feedback, etc. En este artículo el objetivo será indagar sobre la relación de las técnicas de comunicación, la neuroeducación y la inteligencia emocional, para mejorar el método de enseñanza-aprendizaje. Metodología: En la metodología se ha utilizado un análisis descriptivo para analizar las diferentes definiciones de cada disciplina y se ha trabajado de manera cualitativa para saber que piensan los alumnos sobre la comunicación de sus profesores. Resultados: Se evidencia que los alumnos necesitan clases más participativas y motivadoras. Discusión y conclusiones: Como primeras conclusiones, se confirma que el docente es un auténtico experto en conocimientos de su materia, pero los alumnos pueden llegar a percibir poca empatía y escasa asertividad hacia ellos.

Palabras clave: neuroeducación; educación superior; inteligencia emocional; profesores; competencias.

1. INTRODUCTION

In recent years, the role of the teacher in the classroom has not stopped being questioned. More active teachers trained in digital and emotional competencies that can motivate students who are more and more absorbed in the media than in their own attention and active listening in the classroom. According to Morris (2014), it is necessary to continue reflecting on and analyzing the teacher's practice in the classroom, especially now that there is available information from neuroscience applied to education. It is necessary to analyze that which is not seen; but which is evident through gestures, postures, ways of communicating and interacting with students, even more so now that there are neuroscientific bases that explain how the brain works and the processes that are related to learning and behavior in the educational context where it develops. For all this it is necessary for teachers to be increasingly trained, but this is not new, according to Sánchez (2016), training not only expands knowledge but also attitudes, values, new ways of doing, enhances self-optimism and, ultimately, favors the increase of intrapersonal and interpersonal skills. Training is a key dimension for university teachers.

To start with, reference will be made to several fundamental competencies for teachers. First, the competencies that emerged more than two decades ago, such as social and communicative skills, will be reviewed. Different universities incorporated in their different curricula subjects around the learning of communication skills and techniques. According to recruitment experts, the students entered the labor market with some theoretical knowledge of the career or specific area, but most of them were found to have a handicap in the use of communication skills, which are necessary to be able to function more effectively within an organization. It should not be forgotten that companies work through competencies such as leadership and group work, so it was necessary to include these competencies in the subjects and work in a transversal manner to ensure that they acquired greater skills during the course of their degree.

Once this challenge was achieved, actions were taken to better master emotional competencies. According to Sánchez (2016), the construct of emotional intelligence is discussed. It is about developing and controlling emotional competencies, not only as a priority means to employ more effectively the teaching function within the classroom, but also to comply with the indications of the Spanish educational system itself, where university degrees and curricula are generated within the European Higher Education Area (EHEA). Within the classroom, different attitudes and aptitudes are observed in the students and understanding them has become a very favorable option for the teacher. According to Sánchez (2022), it will also be necessary to work on emotional intelligence, in order to balance the rational and the emotional. It should not be forgotten that knowing how to work with oneself on competencies and skills will help to show students the example they should follow in their lives. Teachers continue to be role models for them, for that reason, one should try to apply the best practices in terms of work and well-being with oneself. And finally, this theoretical framework will focus on neuroeducation, as a proposal not new but still unknown by many trainers in higher education, conceived as a pedagogical purpose in providing students with the necessary resources to transform them into physically and mentally healthy human beings. Neuroeducation integrates the knowledge generated by neuroscience, education and psychology. Its significant contribution lies in the study of teaching and learning processes, based on the functioning of the brain in order to teach and learn better. It will be necessary to train personal skills and learn to read and interpret what is happening inside the other. This entails a free effort and the desire to understand the behavior of others in order to apply neuroeducational skills assertively. Therefore, it is necessary to analyze the relationship between the conglomerate of social and communicative skills, the competence of emotional intelligence, as well as the contribution of neuroscience to education.

The research analysis in the second half of this article follows, on the one hand, a descriptive methodology, due to its theoretical framework, and on the other hand, a qualitative methodology, given the application of a questionnaire to know the students' opinions about their teachers' skills. By using this information, it was possible to know what they think of the teachers. Their own answers about the teachers' performance in the classroom will help institutions analyze what improvements could be made in their praxis, as well as those strengths they already count on.

1.1. The requirement of social and communicative skills for being assertive

It could be said that social and communication skills emerged more than 20 years ago at the educational level as a means of meeting the needs of the organizational contexts. Students entered the professional world with a large amount of content specific to their degree, but far away were other types of competencies such as teamwork, presentations, leadership, conflict resolution, etc. Managers and those in charge of personnel selection and recruitment were increasingly aware of the effectiveness of the Hawthorne Effect, a social experiment that showed that performance depended more on the human aspect (motivation, interpersonal relationships, engagement in the job design, self-management) than on the technical aspect (being in a certain place, having the correct brightness, setting up schedules, monitoring) (García-Rincón, & Hernández, 1992). According to Sánchez (2016), for some time now, universities have been working to be able to transmit values, competencies and prepare their students for a compatible and successful emotional development within the labor market. Not only did they successfully face all the changes within the new legislative framework with the Bologna Plan -transmitting a new teaching-learning vision in the classroom and working more closely on collaborative, meaningful learning, etc., with the students- but also with the inclusion and modification in their curricula of subjects such as: communication skills, management skills, emotional intelligence, etc. These subjects have contributed to the teaching of skills, self-knowledge, self-control, empathy, the art of listening, conflict resolution, collaborating with others, in short, being more assertive people.

Assertive people are those who share more than just words and aspects of the task, those who respect the rights of others, maintain an adequate interpersonal space with their interlocutor. They are also those who take care of their tone, adapt their language to the person and environment to be able to maintain a more effective communication, those who know how to take care of the small details, those who look into the eyes when speaking and, basically, those who are able to create a rapport with their interlocutor. They are also able to create a trusting atmosphere and to see and enhance the added values of their employees or interlocutors, minimizing and downplaying the problems that may arise in different environments.

Many are the definitions that could be given about assertive people, however, there are three main characteristics to know how to behave assertively:

Active listening: Send verbal and non-verbal signals to the other person that you are the focus of attention, willing to understand him/her, even if you do not agree with him/her. Active listening also implies the possibility of generating empathy with the other person, that is, being able to be in the other person's shoes. Thus, being able to grasp and understand what the other person feel does not necessarily mean being in total agreement with their point of view or with what is being communicated; it is simply a matter of identifying the feelings of the other person, or, in other words, trying to understand the reasons for commenting on what is being said.
Decide what to say or do and when: After paying attention, all relevant information is processed to ask what is to be achieved. Then, the situation indicates the appropriate thing to say or do in the particular case. Here one must take into consideration not to judge the information or the person in order to be able to reply in a constructive and respectful manner.
Say and do what has been decided: Here, one shall clearly, directly and concisely express one's feelings and comment on what one wishes to happen. It is necessary to be clear about the verbal and non-verbal elements of the other person in order not to damage or hurt their values.

Over time, the learning of competencies has evolved, while continuing to emphasize working with oneself and knowing how to connect with others, focusing on other types of skills such as emotional intelligence.

1.2. The construct of emotional intelligence

For years a lot of emphasis was placed on having skills while dealing with others, but lately self-knowledge of oneself is also in demand. Surely if you look for a definition of emotional intelligence you will probably come across a vast selection of them. Therefore, focus will be only on a couple of authors. In Gardner's studies (1983) with his theory of multiple intelligences, seven different intelligences were already valued: linguistic intelligence, logical-mathematical intelligence, spatial intelligence, musical intelligence, bodily and kinesthetic intelligence, intrapersonal intelligence and interpersonal intelligence. He was one of the authors who highlighted the importance of working at the interpersonal and intrapersonal levels, defining them: Interpersonal intelligence is the ability to understand other people: what motivates them, how they work, how to work with them in a cooperative way (Gardner, 1980). Intrapersonal intelligence, the seventh type of intelligence, is a correlative, but inwardly oriented, capacity. It is the ability to form an accurate, truthful model of oneself and to be able to use this model to function effectively in life (Gardner, 1980).

Although there were studies that helped to put out of context the unchangeable theory that intelligence came from genetics or experience, it was two psychologists, Salovey & Mayer, who in 1990 formulated for the first time the concept of Emotional Intelligence defining it as the ability of people to perceive (in oneself and in others) and express emotions appropriately, the ability to use such emotional information to facilitate thinking, to understand and reason about emotions and to regulate emotions in oneself and in others. And, finally, a great model that has had special transcendence has been the one resulting from Daniel Goleman's research, in 1995, focused on business and organizational leadership, combining the theory of Emotional Intelligence with the world of competencies. For Goleman (1995), excellence in the workplace depends more on emotional competencies than on cognitive ones, and he distinguishes two fundamental areas within emotional competence: personal and social.

Personal competence: Consists of the way of relating to oneself and to the people around, keeping:

Self-awareness: It is the awareness of one's own internal states, resources and intuitions.
Self-regulation: It is the control of internal states, drives and resources.
Motivation: It is the emotional tendencies that guide or facilitate the achievement of one's goals.

Social competence: Consists of the way of relating to others, involves key skills such as:

Empathy: It is the awareness of the feelings, needs and concerns of others.
Social skills: Is the ability to induce desirable replies in others.

If importance is given to this research, it is to verify that, over time, emotional competencies have continued to be addressed, although they have been treated with different names and perspectives, since there is an important path for teachers to follow in knowing themselves and knowing how to understand others. In the end, the goal is to prepare students to become people who can master their emotional states, who can become motivated and resilient in spite of difficulties and frustrations, and who can gain greater knowledge, understanding and respect for themselves and others.

1.3. The view of neuroeducation oriented towards teacher training

As it has been detailed, teachers are never fully prepared in their profession and continue to advance in order to be trained in technological and emotional competencies. It could be confirmed that the focus has shifted from working on social and communicative skills to training in competencies, and nowadays, the main focus is to understand the brain in order to know how emotions work, that is, to understand neuroscience. According to Morris (2014), neuroscience studies the human nervous system, a system that “makes us what we are”. The teacher, interacting daily with multiple characters, feels the need to incorporate other explanations to the educational facts experienced in the classroom. Thus, when learning about neuroscience applied to education, other pedagogical needs become apparent; and when faced with them, the teacher feels it is imminent and asks questions that help to interpret his or her attitude. Then the answers will help to cross the bridge from intuition to knowledge. There are studies that have led to the knowledge available today. Bruno della Chiesa, pointed out: “Imaging technologies allow the observation of the brain at work which has meant an understanding of perceptual, cognitive and emotional functions that have consequences for education” (p. 31). This trend towards greater applicability of neuroscience to education parallels an increasingly receptive society, stakeholders in education including students, parents, teachers and policy makers to better understand the learning process and to structure environments that nurture it. Other authors such as Kandel (1997) point out that

The task of neuroscience is to provide explanations of behavior in terms of the activities of the brain, to explain how millions of nerve cells act to produce behaviors and how these cells are influenced by the environment. The author considers that its main purpose is to understand how the brain creates the distinct human individuality. (p. 19)

With this statement it can be confirmed that this knowledge, which has a neuropedagogical and neurodidactic perspective, provides the teacher with knowledge in the face of the diversity of challenges; and therefore, will be very productive in the classroom.

Although, if one had to use a definition of neuroeducation it would be that of Antonio Battro (2011). In it, Antonio Battro points out that neuroeducation is the new interdiscipline or transdiscipline that promotes a greater integration of the sciences of education with those that deal with the neurocognitive development of the human species, and adds that knowing the brain activity is an invaluable tool for the teaching task. Thus, once the link between neuroscience and learning becomes stronger, it appears that: when learning takes place, the brain changes its shape and experience molds the plastic and flexible brain. Learning organizes and reorganizes the brain. In the opinion of Luis María Labath Casis:

It is much more than putting yourself in the shoes of others, it is what leads to being...good parents or inspiring leaders...To achieve this, it is paramount to know how to listen, ask questions and be quite, both in the mind and in conversation; and it requires observing without judging, recognizing and interpreting other people's emotions...however...it requires assertiveness. (citado por Ayca, 2014, p. 10)

1.3.1. Neuroeducator and mirror neurons

Knowing brain activity and how it works is becoming essential in order to understand human individuality. Knowing how to interpret emotions and not judge them is helping teachers to be more empathetic and assertive without having to judge constantly, but there is also a scientific explanation for this fact, such as mirror neurons. According to Morris (2014), mirror neurons are nerve cells that are activated and discharged when one being observes while the other performs an action, especially if both are of the same species. It can be said that the one who observes is the one who performs the action, but without acting. Thus, they are the neurons that allow us to imitate the behavior of others, as if reflecting the action of another. In addition, they are brain areas that allow us to simulate the suffering or well-being of a person.

Research by G. Risolatti, V. Genesi, M. Locoboni and Vitoyonur Ramachadram and others, make it possible to affirm that there is a link between the motor organization of intentional actions and the capacity to understand the intentions of others. Hence, mirror neurons are called by V. Ramachadram “empathy neurons”, so called because they are involved in understanding the emotions of others. (Ayca, 2014, p. 11)

These mirror neurons of the observer act as a system that allows the understanding of the actions of others and, consequently, to experience empathy, imitation, emulation and theory of mind. It is even suggested that the mirror neuron system would be the basic neural mechanism for the development of language.

For teachers, it is of great pedagogical relevance to know that the genesis of the imitation of gestures, postures and verbal and non-verbal expressions is found in the premotor area where the mirror neurons are located. This knowledge, within the teacher's reach, undoubtedly has neuroeducational transcendence. Because of these contributions, it is necessary to reflect on whether the teacher should become a neuroeducator, capable of understanding the brain and neuronal mechanisms to achieve greater learning in the classroom.

According to Béjar (2014), the neuroeducator are qualified professional. They are capable of establishing an interdisciplinary dialogue between the advances in applied neuroscience and the practical experience of the teacher testing such methodologies in the classroom on a daily basis. In general terms, it would seem that the neuroeducator is prepared to implement the generation of new educational programs according to the needs of each school. It should also be confirmed that the neuroeducator knows the role of the brain in individual student learning. A priori, this new job, is aware that the students' attentional windows open and close differently during the time of a class. Aware of the importance of the individuality of each learning process, the neuroeducator studies ways to personalize the teaching-learning process in such a way as to awaken the student's curiosity, increase their level of attention and intensify their creative, executive and emotional development. Although it is increasingly difficult to attend to individual student learning due to the heterogeneity in the classroom, it is necessary to try to awaken the attention of students so that they do not fall into boredom and idleness.

1.4. Relationship between social and communicative skills, emotional intelligence and neuroeducation

As it has been discussed so far, there are certain similarities between social and communicative skills, emotional intelligence and the new role of neuroscience in education. Although each of them has emerged at different times to meet specific needs in the training of students and teachers, they all have something in common: the improvement of the teaching-learning method by teachers with the ultimate goal of providing students with social-emotional skills. These skills will help them in their social, personal, family, professional, etc. environment. The table below shows not only when each of them started to become real, but also how they were defined and what implications they have had and are having in the classroom.

Table 1.

Definition and implications for education.

Period of time	Name	Definition	Classroom implications
The decade of the 1920s	Social and communicative skills	Those necessary behaviors that enable effective relationships with others. Communication techniques such as active listening and feedback are taught through them.	Included in the curricula of the degrees as a multidisciplinary subject. The learning of these skills will enable students to improve their social and communicative relationships for a successful entering into the labor market.
The decade of the 90s of the 20^th century, under the name of Emotional Intelligence by Salovey and Mayer.	Competence: Emotional Intelligence	Necessary competence to control and understand not only one's own emotions, but also those of others.	In a globalized world in continuous change, it is necessary for students to have self-knowledge and self-control to coexist in different professional scenarios.
Since 1988 by the official father of neuroeducation “Gerhard Preiss” with the creation of a subject called “neurodidactics”.	Neuroeducation: mirror neurons	The discipline that studies the functioning of the brain during the teaching-learning process.	Students need to be understood. It is necessary for the teacher to know the brain system that allows the understanding of others and therefore to experience empathy and imitation.

Source: Elaborated by the authors.

All of them, although having different descriptions, have provided support at the educational level. It could be said that neuroeducation is the progress of social and communicative skills and emotional intelligence. Not only should one convey good verbal and non-verbal communication, be assertive, use empathy, self-monitor emotions and that of others, but also understand how the brain is able to transmit signals for greater learning in the classroom. The image below shows the most common skills that link them.

Figure 1.

Competencies used as a common denominator.

Source: Elaborated by the authors.

If teacher training has been changing in recent years, it is also due to the heterogeneity existing in classrooms. The new generations are different from the previous one, so their needs will also be different. On the other hand, the modalities in the institutions have also been affected and where before a teacher delivered a master classes in a face-to-face manner, now the teacher has to master the different environments to carry out this work: face-to-face, virtual and/or face-to-face classes with students connected virtually. Good management of social and emotional skills, self-awareness and self-control as well as the knowledge of the brain system, will enable the teacher of advanced learning to achieve the objectives in the classroom.

2. OBJECTIVES

The proposed objectives are as follows:

Objective 1: To analyze the homogeneity of the three concepts to be taking into account: social and communicative skills, emotional intelligence and neuroeducation to verify the similarities they have when referring to competencies.
Objective 2: To examine students' self-perception through a questionnaire to consider whether teachers need more competencies and skills in the face-to-face and virtual classroom.

In order to achieve the stated objectives, a descriptive analysis of the different names and functionalities of social and communicative skills, emotional intelligence and neuroeducation will be presented first. Next, some students' answers on the competencies of their teachers in the face-to-face or virtual classroom will be detailed.

3. METHODOLOGY

In order to meet the research objectives, a descriptive analysis was chosen in the first place to support the different concepts and a qualitative study to collect the self-perception that students have about the competencies of their teachers. Although there are many ways to collect information, the methodology used in this research is qualitative. One of the main contributions to the development of the qualitative approach is the one made by M. Weber who gives the role to the actions, reasons and behaviors of the human being. For Weber (1944) social players are the constructors of social reality. Being on the same side, Creswell (1999) considers that qualitative research is an interpretive process of inquiry based on different methodological traditions. According to Sandín (2003), when trying to learn about the self-perception of students in the higher education scenario in this study, it is necessary to look for an in-depth understanding of educational and social phenomena, the transformation of socio-educational practices and scenarios, decision making, and also the discovery and development of a well structured knowledge. The setting will be students from different degrees (undergraduate and graduate) during the academic years 2020 to 2023.

Other authors, such as Marshall, & Rossman (1999), suppose an immersion in the daily life of the situation selected for the study, an appreciation and attempt to discover the participants' perspective on their own worlds, as well as to consider the research as an interactive process between the researcher and the participants. In this regard, the words of people and their verifiable behavior constitute the primary data. Therefore, it is possible to speak of the relevance of social relations with the context and worldviews between subjects, the collectivity of knowledge and the relational role of the researcher.

In this study there was a sample of 325 students. All of them are students of different undergraduate and graduate degrees in face-to-face and virtual modality. A Google Forms questionnaire was used as an instrument, which was sent to the students so that they could answer each of the questions. Although the questionnaire includes several questions, this chapter is limited to the students' self-perception of the competencies and skills of their teachers, both in the face-to-face and virtual modalities. In this way, some improvements and recommendations for the teaching staff can be identified.

4. RESULTS

In this section, the results found in answering the question asked to the students are detailed below: What recommendations and considerations would you give to your teachers for a more fluent communication in the classes? In the students' answers, it is evident that they want to have more participative and dynamic classes. They themselves state that they can see the theory at other times and the classes can be used for practices, projects or challenges that motivate the students. It is confirmed that students need self-motivated teachers with empathy, communication skills and knowledge of emotional intelligence. Some of their answers are as follows:

“Not being monotonous and making dynamics to keep students engaged”. A122
“More hands-on and dynamic”. A34
“Deliver more dynamic and entertaining classes to lose attention and motivation”. A53
“To deliver more dynamic classes since we can get the theoretical concepts from the Internet”. A116
“Teaching more practical and entertaining classes”. A67
“active lessons”. A25
“Be dynamic with presentations, activities expanding student participation...etc”. A89
“Be updated and make the classes more enjoyable”. A65
“Teach in a more dynamic way and not just read the slides, generate debates, facilitate student participation...” A321
“Do practical activities”. A17
“Teach in a less theoretical way by being more dynamic, with topics related to current affairs that may be of greater interest to students”. A12
“More projects, activities in class, group activities, in order to make the class more enjoyable and in this way”.
“To be more connected with the theory”. A4
“Make dynamic classes, do not read presentations because that only gets the student bored and we disconnect instantly. Classes that are useful and fun”. A156
“Make the class even more interactive than it is in person and include examples that encourage us to continue listening to the theories”. A39

Another issue where students feel that teachers should improve is oral participation and communication. They want to be listened to, to move away from lectures and feel that they are participating in the classes, to be able to give their opinions freely and to have more team work. Clearly, they are proposing a greater use of communication techniques, both active listening and feedback. Emotional intelligence would also play an important role, especially at the interpersonal level, for the use of empathy and social skills. Some of their answers are as follows:

“Asking students direct questions. Students are often embarrassed or don't pay attention”. A15
“If possible, to implement debates in some subjects on the syllabus so that everyone feels heard”. A3
“Let students give their opinions freely”. A66
“Ask students directly to encourage interaction”. A220
“Encourage participation in exchange of extra points in the subject”. A98
“Use gamification, try to introduce questions constantly to motivate students to participate. Avoid classes that are merely lectures”. A77
“Constant student participation, asking questions, interacting with them... Making the learning experience much more enjoyable”. A81
“Bringing up debates, encourage students to speak out”. A167
“Making classes more dialogue-based, encouraging participation, cooperative work”. A312
“Being smooth and encourage activities that make us participate”. A299
“Propose challenges and smoother conversations between teacher-student than a one-way communication by the teacher”. A28

Neuroeducation is also reflected in a multitude of answers. Students want teachers who are not only limited to knowing the contents of the subjects, but who understand pedagogically how students learn, how they think and how they feel. “The three universal functions of the human brain are knowing, valuing and deciding” (Zubiría, & Padilla, 2009, p. 30), hence it is of great importance to guide teaching, learning, instruction, education, training and integral development of the personality of students, based on the functioning of the human brain. Some of the answers are described below.

“To adjust emotion to students, trying to get to know how they learn”. A2
“It is not a monologue”. A52
“Many teachers think that with their knowledge about a specific field is enough to be able to teach for the rest of their lives without the need to keep learning about other disciplines or their own. I am sorry for those who think this way. Today, if we do not renew our digital knowledge as well as the use and applications of the tools that the Internet provides us with, the generation gap will be very significant among new generations. It will also affect the students' interest in learning”. A90

In presentations, students are always asked to communicate assertively, with good intonation and nonverbal communication. They are also the ones who require teachers with these skills.

“A high tone of voice, good energy, didactic activities, team work”. A45

Thanks to emotional intelligence, the teacher feels capable of self-control. The interaction with students per day and per week is constant and needs not to exceed the limits despite the fact that everyone, students and teachers can have worse days.

“Have patience and focus on the objectives of the subject”. A61

If there is one thing on which there is total agreement, it is that teachers should present content that is close to the reality that students will experience. While social and communicative skills were encouraged for an improvement in the incorporation to the professional world, it will be necessary to relate how they can put those contents into practice in the different environments that surround them.

“Relating what we see to the world of work”. A44
“They should relate their classes to the labor market”. A78

Other obstacles in today's education are virtual classes. Students feel that sometimes their teachers do not have enough control over the technologies, that they are still focused on their syllabus and absorbed in finishing their content. If in the face-to-face class competencies and skills are needed to understand and comprehend the students, in the virtual class a greater effort must be made to reinforce verbal and non-verbal communication. Everyone enabling the camera, the good use of technology and making them more involved in the sessions, will be the key to improve this modality. Some of the answer are described below:

“Let them put on the camera”. A17
“Exploit the platforms provided to the maximum and as I said before make it more enjoyable”.
“Let them get more used to the technologies”. A79
“I think something that would help a lot, but I think it is not allowed, is the obligation to have the camera and microphones on during the whole class. In the end, even though you're at home, those two things force you to act like you're in class”. A24
“Constant training in technological tools”. A178
“We should do more online activities”. A110
“I think it is a matter of attitude, there are teachers who choose to ignore the virtual ones because they see them as lazy or comfortable”. A96
“There should be new tools that allow them to activate online content and presentations. As well as the tool they use, it does not seem the most appropriate for this purpose. When they share the screen, they do not visualize the student or their questions. I see it as a tool that is not very dynamic”. A278
“They should have patience because the new technologies sometimes do not work well. Also, They should deliver more interactive classes so that the people at home pay attention to them”. A199
“Put camera on students to force them to pay attention for fear of catching them doing other things, I consider myself an absent-minded student and online I was doing everything but being in class.” A61
“Online attendance allows some flexibility for everyone, but from my point of view, it is much better to have face-to-face attendance. The effort has to be on both sides, not just on the part of the teacher”. A53
“To have a good use and knowledge of the programs, to know how to act in case of unforeseen events”.
“controlling technology well and making classes more dynamic”. A29
“They should not get overwhelmed and ask young people for help whenever they need it regarding technology. In addition, they could also ask for an opinion on some different pages on which to do the work and on which they can be much more entertaining”. A42
“Make sure they have what they need to teach the class on line”. A8
“More courses on the use of information tools”. A301
“What I would advise is that even if they are virtual they can also try to carry out interaction through games and group activities”. A45
“In cases where there are practical exercises upload videos solving the exercises”. A11
“Activities related to technology, such as Kahoot”. A97
“Do interactive activities instead of just explaining the theory”. A221
“Do interactive activities with platforms in which the syllabus appears as a way of learning”. A267

5. CONCLUSIONS AND DISCUSSION

The field of training has always been an unstable variant within the teacher profile. Being a good teacher and knowing how to manage conflicts in the classroom has become a priority in teacher training. According to Knight (2005), teacher learning comes not only from training, but also from experience. Although it is recognized that the knowledge needed by higher education teachers is different from the knowledge needed by students, both roles involve learning. Teachers must constantly make decisions, so they need tools that can help them in their work.

For Zabalza (2007), subjects should develop and improve, as a result of training, the following dimensions:

– New possibilities of personal development. This idea of personal development could be specified as: balanced personal knowledge, improvement of the subject's basic skills and personal satisfaction, improvement of self-esteem and the feeling of being increasingly competent and better able to accept the normal challenges of life (not only at work).

– New knowledge. This refers to the idea of being more competent as a result of the training process followed. This knowledge includes: basic general culture, academic culture (if applicable) and professional culture (if applicable).

– New skills. They refer to the improvement in the intervention capacity of the subjects being trained. It is assumed that the subjects, at the end of the training process, should be able to do things better than they did before. Skills can be: generic (related to ordinary life tasks) and specialized (related to the performance of a specific function).

– Attitudes and values. This is a substantive part of any training process; however, it is the most absent content in the usual training processes. Attitudes and values can refer to oneself, to others (from co-workers to reference groups with whom one lives), to events and situations of ordinary life, to the commitments one assumes or to the way one manages one's work.

– Experiential enrichment. Any process should constitute, as a whole, an opportunity to broaden the set of experiences of the participating subjects. Higher and lower quality training processes depend on the experiences offered to the people being trained. Those that offer a higher training quality offer strong and rich experiences both on a personal and professional level.

It is well known that this task is becoming more and more complicated in educational centers. In classrooms, the number of students is increasing, and in most cases, the groups are very heterogeneous. In addition, teaching methods can be very disparate. It is essential to try to develop all the competencies and learning outcomes according to the subject guide. One of the problems is how to teach and transmit to teaching professionals the extent to which poor socio-emotional management can affect academic learning.

Hence, teachers need social and emotional competencies. According to Robinson (2015), there are various functions that can fulfill three fundamental purposes for students:

– Motivation, teachers motivate their students through their passion for their disciplines and encourage them to do their best.

– Confidence, students are helped to acquire the skills and knowledge they need to become confident and independent learners, and to be able to develop them further.

– Creativity, students are enabled to experiment, investigate, ask questions, develop their own competencies and stimulate curiosity in order to think outside the box. (p. 20)

If teachers are deficient in developing social-emotional competencies in the classroom and are not trained to face new situations in the school, they will not be able to assume the new demands that the legal qualifications require. In turn, these teachers will lack knowledge about the different changes that are constantly proclaimed by the laws, and the development of their own social and emotional competencies will not be meaningful for them either. The emotional competence of teachers is crucial for their own personal well-being and for their effectiveness and quality when carrying out teaching-learning processes in the classroom, in general, and in the socio-emotional development of students (Martín et al., 2008).

As shown in the theoretical framework of this study, teacher training requires not only knowledge of theoretical competencies, but also the ability to develop and practice them in the classroom. Being a role model for their students implies being updated in terms of skills and abilities.

At the beginning it became clear how social and communication skills emerged as a response to the lack of competencies in students when entering the professional world, becoming a transversal subject in all official degrees. Communication techniques, such as active listening and feedback, were and are essential as effective communication tools in all environments in today's world. The student was also trained in interpersonal competencies such as empathy and social skills, teamwork and cooperative work, but it seems that it was not enough over time. Self-awareness and self-control were also shown to be outstanding skills not only on a personal level, but also in professional settings. And finally, with the progress of neuroscience and its contribution in the area of education, the teacher will be able to understand brain functioning to develop techniques and instruct and educate more efficiently, as well as to reinforce learning processes.

After the answers obtained, it can be confirmed that the students are looking for the teacher to be trained, not only being an expert in the specific subject, but also looking for that interpersonal approach, which makes them participants in their own learning. Having a say, feeling listened to, more enjoyable and participatory classes are just some of the recommendations. Notes are no longer the key point in the classroom, but participation and collaboration in debates and activities that help to understand the theory, develop social-emotional skills and critical thinking that will help them to become integral people in society.

Another issue that can be highlighted is how they demand greater mastery of technologies, as well as a persistent training in digital competencies. Taking into consideration that the student is a digital native, teachers must prepare themselves to use efficiently the technological tools that help and facilitate student learning. Based on the answers, it is appropriate to highlight their request regarding patience and learning emotions. This leads to think that the student may be aware of situations of lack of self-control and the need for emotional management of the group.

With regard to objective 1, it is confirmed that, although the three concepts arose to provide a solution at different times, they all focus on a common learning approach to communication skills, intra- and interpersonal competencies, as well as a deeper learning about brain functioning. All of them will help students improve in the teaching-learning process in order to achieve the required competencies. In addition, the role of the neuroeducator in teacher training is becoming more firmly established.

Regarding the objective 2, it is confirmed that students demand that teachers to possess and develop more socio-emotional and communicative skills in the classroom, and place greater emphasis on students as the protagonists of their own training. Teachers should no longer be focused on their master class, but should understand how students think and feel, so that their practice can be a model for imitation and improve their learning. To achieve this task, more practice on conversations and more dynamic activities in the sessions are necessary.

As it is understood, this work is complicated, also due to the standards of society and an increasingly globalized and changing world. It is necessary to be correctly trained so that personal emotional stability is not affected. For example, every ten years the information and knowledge generated by mankind doubles; however, every ten years a quarter of the existing information becomes obsolete. This means that we are rapidly accumulating information that we cannot know, understand and much less assimilate (López, 2002). According to Ocaña (2015), teachers have become instructors, they are dictators of lectures; their mission has been to impart knowledge that is no longer valid, that has expired. Moreover, such didactic-curricular system is homogeneous, it erroneously considers that all students are the same, that they learn at the same pace, through the same cognitive channels, that they have the same interests and learning styles.

This study confirms the need for teachers to be trained in social and communicative skills, to understand the parameters of the construct of emotional intelligence and to delve into the functioning of the brain system so the student's learning process become efficient. Finally, having verified the advances of neuroscience in the educational field, it can be confirmed that the role of the neuroeducator will become infallible in the training of any educator.

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AUTHORS’ CONTRIBUTIONS, FUNDING AND ACKNOLEDGMENTS

The author has read and accepted the published version of the manuscript: Abadanes Sánchez, Marta.

Funding: This research did not receive external funding.

Conflict of interest: There is no conflict of interest.

AUTHOR:

Marta Abadanes Sánchez

European University of Madrid

PhD in Education from the European University of Madrid, Bachelor's Degree in Psychopedagogy (C.E.S. Don Bosco) and Diploma in Social Education (E.U. Cardenal Cisneros). She holds several master's degrees, including Professional and Executive Coach (IEC), Human Resources (CEREM) and Teacher Training (UEM). She has held several management positions at UEM and she is an associate professor in the Department of Legal and Political Sciences. Her research interests include emotional intelligence, teacher training and competencies and learning ecologies. She is the main researcher responsible for projects on digital teaching and engagement strategies in digital competences. She collaborates as a reviewer in high impact journals and has been responsible for certain subjects in CIMIE.

marta.abanades@universidadeuropea.es

Índice H: 4

Orcid ID: https://orcid.org/0000-0002-4303-6332

Google Scholar: https://scholar.google.es/citations?user=yjyFbFcAAAAJ&hl=es&oi=ao

ResearchGate: https://www.researchgate.net/profile/Marta-Abanades