THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS RESEARCH WAS CHARACTERIZE THE EMOTIONAL COMPETENCIES OF STUDENTS AT A UNIVERSITY IN SOUTH-CENTRAL CHILE. FOR THIS PURPOSE, A QUANTITATIVE RESEARCH WAS CARRIED OUT, WHOSE DATA WERE OBTAINED DURING THE YEAR 2023 IN A POPULATION OF CHILEAN UNIVERSITY STUDENTS. THE NON-PROBABILISTIC SAMPLE CONSISTED OF 613 STUDENTS FROM DIFFERENT CAREERS OF A HIGHER EDUCATION INSTITUTION IN THE CENTER-SOUTH OF CHILE. THE RESULTS SHOW THAT IN THE EMOTIONAL AWARENESS DIMENSION THE AVERAGES ARE CLOSE TO 3.8 POINTS, IN THE REGULAR CATEGORY. IN THE DISCIPLINARY AREA OF SOCIAL SCIENCES, THE EMOTIONAL REGULATION DIMENSION IS THE ONE THAT OBTAINS THE LOWEST AVERAGE, WITH STATISTICALLY SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES ( P = 0.001), WITH RESPECT TO THE DISCIPLINARY AREAS OF EDUCATION AND HEALTH. AS FOR THE DIMENSIONS OF EMOTIONAL AUTONOMY AND SOCIAL COMPETENCE, THEY HAVE A BEHAVIOR QUITE CLOSE TO THE HIGHEST SCORES OF THE INSTRUMENT, WITHOUT SIGNIFICANT DIFFERENCES BETWEEN THE DISCIPLINARY AREAS, WHICH IS POSITIVE SINCE ACCORDING TO THESE FINDINGS, STUDENTS WOULD BE ABLE TO BE GUIDED BY THEIR OWN NORMS AND ESTABLISH ADEQUATE AND HEALTHY SOCIAL RELATIONSHIPS. THE HIGHEST SCORES ARE IN THE DIMENSIONS OF EMOTIONAL AUTONOMY AND SOCIAL COMPETENCE, WHICH WOULD IMPLY THAT THE STUDENTS HAVE GREATER COMPETENCIES TO FEND FOR THEMSELVES AND TO RELATE TO THEIR SOCIAL GROUPS. IN CONTRAST, THE DIMENSION LEAST DEVELOPED BY THE STUDENTS IS EMOTIONAL REGULATION, ALTHOUGH THEIR AVERAGE SCORES ARE IN THE REGULAR CATEGORY, WHICH GROUPS 60% OF THE CASES, WHICH MEANS THAT THERE IS A PENDING CHALLENGE FOR THE OPTIMAL DEVELOPMENT OF THIS DIMENSION IN UNIVERSITY EDUCATION.

TO PROPOSE A REFLECTION ON SCHOOL MICROPOLITICS IS TO RECOGNIZE THE IMPORTANCE OF THE SCHOOL AS A MICROCOSM OF SOCIETY. FROM THIS RECOGNITION, THE OBJECTIVE OF THIS STUDY WAS TO LAY THE FOUNDATIONS FOR A REFLECTION ON SCHOOL MICROPOLITICS AND SOCIO-EMOTIONAL LEARNING AS ELEMENTS THAT PROMOTE SOCIAL COHESION; THIS IS DUE TO THE FACT THAT POLITICAL DECISIONS REGARDING EDUCATIONAL AND MANAGEMENT PRACTICES THAT ARE TAKEN AT THE SCHOOL LEVEL ARE FUNDAMENTAL TO UNDERSTAND THE CONTRIBUTION AND CONTRIBUTION OF TEACHERS IN THE EDUCATIONAL SYSTEM. THESE DECISIONS HAVE A DIRECT IMPACT ON THE FORMATION AND RESONANCE IN SOCIETY, AMONG WHICH THE IMPORTANCE OF RESPONSIBILITY AND DIALOGICAL LEADERSHIP OF THE MANAGEMENT TEAM AND THE TEACHING STAFF IN THE IMPLEMENTATION OF THE CURRICULUM AND THE DEVELOPMENT OF A PEDAGOGY ORIENTED TO SOCIO-EMOTIONAL LEARNING STAND OUT OF THE STUDENTS. HENCE THE NEED TO RETHINK THE SCHOOL AS A LEADING INSTITUTION OF PUBLIC POLICIES IN THE DEVELOPMENT OF TRANSVERSAL TRAINING, SINCE IT IS BELIEVED THAT IT IS IN THE SCHOOL WHERE IMPORTANT CHANGES SHOULD TAKE PLACE, THIS NOT WITHOUT COUNTING OR IGNORING THE ROLE THAT IT HAS AT THE MACRO AND MESO-POLITICAL LEVEL IN ADDRESSING THESE CHALLENGES.