Stability in Vietnamese undergraduate students’ self-perceived social–emotional learning competencies across gender and academic year

Social–emotional learning (SEL) has been increasingly recognized as a critical component of competency-based education in higher education; however, empirical evidence from Vietnamese universities remains limited. This study examined undergraduate students’ self-assessed competencies in social–emotional learning and competency-based instruction, with particular attention to differences across gender and academic year. A cross-sectional survey design was employed with a sample of 388 undergraduate students from multiple universities in Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam. Data were collected using an adapted SEL self-assessment scale measuring competencies across conceptual, procedural, and applied domains. Descriptive statistics, independent-samples t tests, and one-way ANOVA were used for data analysis. The results indicated that gender was not significantly associated with students’ self-assessed SEL competencies, t(386) = 0.17, p = .86, with a negligible effect size (Cohen’s d = 0.02). Similarly, no statistically significant differences were found across academic years, F(3, 384) = 1.66, p = .18. Although second-year students reported slightly lower mean scores (M = 1.79, SD = 0.97) compared to other cohorts, these differences did not reach statistical significance. Overall, students reported moderate levels of perceived SEL competence (M = 2.02, SD = 0.86). The findings suggest that Vietnamese undergraduates possess foundational awareness of SEL concepts, yet opportunities to develop applied and integrative competencies remain limited. The absence of demographic differences underscores the importance of instructional design and learning experiences, rather than demographic characteristics, in supporting SEL development within competency-based higher education.