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Resea ch A icle
Social Skills Among Senio Seconda y School S uden s wi h Respec o
Voca ional Aspi a ion and Academic Achie emen
Vandana Kapoo 1, D . Suman Kuma i *2
1School o Educa ion, Abhilashi Uni e si y, Mandi, Himachal P adesh
2 Assis an P o esso Abhilashi Uni e si y Chail Chowk Mandi Himachal P adesh, India
Co esponding Au ho : *D . Suman Kuma i DOI: h ps://doi.o g/10.5281/zenodo.17326304
Abs ac
Manusc ip In o ma ion
The p esen esea ch wo k was speci ically unde aken o s udy he social skills among senio
seconda y school s uden s wi h espec o oca ional aspi a ion and academic achie emen .
Su ey echnique unde desc ip i e me hod o esea ch was adop ed in his p esen
in es iga ion o al sample o 881senio seconda y school s uden s was selec ed om ou
dis ic s o Himachal P adesh by employing an inciden al sampling echnique. Da a we e
collec ed wi h he help o he Social Skills Ra ing Scale (SSRS-SVAAKS) de eloped by Sood,
Anand, and Kuma . The collec ed da a we e analyzed by employing Analysis o Va iance
(Two-way). The majo indings o he s udy e ealed ha he senio seconda y school s uden s
possessing di e en le els o oca ional aspi a ion di e ed signi ican ly om each o he wi h
ega d o hei social skills. On he o he hand, he e was no signi ican di e ence in social
skills among senio seconda y school s uden s wi h ega d o hei academic achie emen .
The e o e, i may be concluded ha senio seconda y school s uden s did no di e
signi ican ly in e ms o hei social skills wi h espec o academic achie emen . In addi ion o
his, he oca ional aspi a ion and academic achie emen in he p e ious class aken oge he
did no a ec he social skills o senio seconda y school s uden s signi ican ly. The end o he
pape discusses he esul s and implica ions o he indings o he in es iga ion ha e been
discussed in de ail.
▪ ISSN No: 2583-7397
▪ Recei ed: 10-09-2025
▪ Accep ed: 20-09-2025
▪ Published: 04-10-2025
▪ IJCRM:4(5); 2025: 251-255
▪ ©2025, All Righ s Rese ed
▪ Plagia ism Checked: Yes
▪ Pee Re iew P ocess: Yes
How o Ci e his A icle
Kapoo V, Kuma i S. Social Skills
Among Senio Seconda y School
S uden s wi h Respec o Voca ional
Aspi a ion and Academic
Achie emen . In J Con emp Res
Mul idiscip. 2025;4(5):251-255.
Access his A icle Online
www.mul ia iclesjou nal.com
KEYWORDS: Social Skills, Voca ional aspi a ion, Academic Achie emen .
1. INTRODUCTION
Social skills a e he essen ial abili ies ha enable indi iduals o
in e ac e ec i ely, communica e app op ia ely, and build
posi i e ela ionships wi h o he s in di e en social con ex s.
They in ol e e bal and non- e bal communica ion, ac i e
lis ening, empa hy, coope a ion, p oblem-sol ing, and con lic
esolu ion, all o which a e necessa y o success ul
pa icipa ion in socie y. Social skills a e no inna e bu a e
g adually lea ned and e ined h ough amily in e ac ions, pee
ela ionships, schooling, and b oade social expe iences. Fo
adolescen s in pa icula , hese skills a e c ucial o pe sonal
g ow h, social adjus men , and academic success. In oday’s
apidly changing and in e connec ed wo ld, social skills ha e
become as impo an as cogni i e and echnical abili ies. They
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help indi iduals manage emo ions, exp ess hemsel es
con iden ly, and wo k collabo a i ely, which a e compe encies
highly alued in educa ional, p o essional, and pe sonal
sphe es. A s ong ounda ion in social skills con ibu es o
psychological well-being, educes beha io al p oblems, and
enhances esilience in coping wi h s ess and challenges.
Con e sely, de ici s in social compe ence may lead o issues
such as low sel -es eem, academic unde pe o mance, pee
ejec ion, and di icul ies in adap ing o social and occupa ional
en i onmen s. The signi icance o social skills is pa icula ly
e iden du ing adolescence, a de elopmen al phase ma ked by
iden i y o ma ion, inc eased pee in luence, and p epa a ion o
u u e esponsibili ies. Fo senio seconda y school s uden s,
who a e a he h eshold o highe educa ion and ca ee
decision-making, well-de eloped social skills suppo bo h
academic achie emen and oca ional eadiness. They no only
s eng hen class oom engagemen and lea ning ou comes bu
also guide s uden s in making in o med ca ee choices and in
adap ing o new oles and expec a ions. Thus, he s udy o
social skills is an impo an a ea o educa ional and
psychological esea ch. I o e s aluable insigh s in o how
adolescen s in e ac wi h hei su oundings, manage
ela ionships, and shape hei u u es. By emphasizing he
de elopmen o social compe encies h ough school p og ams,
eache in e en ions, and pa en al suppo , s uden s can be
p epa ed o holis ic de elopmen , enabling hem o succeed
academically, pu sue meaning ul ca ee s, and con ibu e
esponsibly o socie y.
The ela ionship be ween social skills, oca ional aspi a ion,
and academic achie emen among senio seconda y school
s uden s can be unde s ood wi hin a holis ic de elopmen al
amewo k. Social skills se e as he ounda ion o e ec i e
in e pe sonal in e ac ions, decision-making, and adap abili y,
which a e essen ial o bo h academic and ca ee - ela ed
pu sui s. S uden s wi h highe le els o social compe ence a e
mo e likely o communica e con iden ly, collabo a e wi h pee s,
and engage ac i ely in lea ning p ocesses, he eby enhancing
hei academic pe o mance. A he same ime, social skills
p o ide s uden s wi h he con idence and awa eness o explo e
ca ee oppo uni ies, se ealis ic oca ional aspi a ions, and
pu sue hem wi h de e mina ion. Academic achie emen , in
u n, ac s as a ein o cing ac o , enabling s uden s o align hei
oca ional goals wi h hei scholas ic abili ies. Thus, social
skills no only di ec ly impac academic ou comes bu also
indi ec ly shape oca ional aspi a ions by os e ing sel -
e icacy, ca ee awa eness, and goal-se ing. The in e play o
hese h ee a iables highligh s he need o schools o
emphasize he de elopmen o social compe encies alongside
academic ins uc ion and ca ee guidance, ensu ing ha
s uden s a e equipped o bo h immedia e academic success and
long- e m oca ional ul illmen . Laksmiwa i e al. (2022)
aimed o de e mine he in luence o social skills among s uden s
who ake pa in collabo a i e lea ning and discussion. The
esul s o he s udy showed ha he e we e signi ican
di e ences be ween g oups ha we e augh wi h collabo a i e
lea ning and g oups ha we e augh by discussion lea ning. I
iewed om he esul s o he s udy, i can be seen ha he es
esul s on g oup s uden s who we e augh by collabo a i e
lea ning ob ained a highe a e age alue o social skills han he
g oup wi hou being augh by collabo a i e lea ning, namely
by egula discussion. The a e age acquisi ion alue o social
skills is a ad i be ween he wo g oups. Bala Anju and
Monika (2022) examined he ela ionship be ween social skills
and sel -e icacy o seconda y school s uden s. The esul s o
he s udy indica ed ha he e was a posi i e ela ionship
be ween social skills and sel -e icacy. Boys we e ound o be
highe in i e dimensions o social skills han gi ls in seconda y
school. Bu gi ls ound highe han ha o boys o seconda y
school wi h espec o hei sel -e icacy. Bade Saba (2023)
examined a s udy on social skills among adolescen s in ela ion
o ce ain demog aphic a iables. The indings o he s udy
e ealed ha he e was a signi ican di e ence in he social
skills o adolescen s in ela ion o gende . Gi ls ha e highe
social skills as compa ed o boys. The esul o he s udy also
e ealed ha he e was a signi ican di e ence in he social
skills o adolescen s in ela ion o he ype o school. S uden s
in p i a e schools ha e be e social skills han s uden s in
public schools. Yu ing and Kway (2023) explo ed a s udy
en i led, “Rela ionship be ween pa en ing s ess and social skills
o p e-school child en. The esul s o he s udy indica ed ha
p e-school s uden s' social skills we e a a medium le el, and
pa en s' pa en ing s ess was a a medium o low le el. Hence, i
may be concluded ha he e was a signi ican and nega i e
co ela ion be ween child en's social skills and pa en s'
pa en ing s ess, and pa en s' pa en ing s ess was p edic i e o
child en's social skills. Tahi and Ma yam Ja ed (2023)
conduc ed a s udy on social skills o s uden s a highe
educa ion le el: A c oss-sec ional su ey o Azad Jammu and
Kashmi . The esul s ound ha eache s pe cei e g oup
discussions as an excellen echnique o en iching s uden
lea ning, p o iding equal oppo uni ies o pa icipa ion.
Fu he mo e, eache s guide s uden s o small g oup
discussions ha help s uden s imp o e hei communica ion
skills. Hu unen and Upadhyay (2025) examined he
adolescen s’ social-emo ional skills p o iles be o e he
educa ional ansi ion o uppe seconda y educa ion. The
indings e ealed ha adolescen s wi h high social and
emo ional skills gene ally epo ed highe educa ional
aspi a ions, lowe school anxie y, and pe cei ed hei
ela ionships a school mo e posi i ely. Howe e , adolescen s
wi h an empa hic-s essed p o ile epo ed simila ly high
educa ional aspi a ions and high school anxie y. Gi ls we e
mo e likely o belong o he empa hic-s essed and low-
empa hic- ole an p o iles, and adolescen s wi h lowe SES o
low-empa hic- ole an o a e age p o iles.
A ho ough e iew o he esea ch li e a u e e ealed ha social
compe ence in luences bo h lea ning ou comes and ca ee
goals. Hence, he p esen s udy was designed wi h he ollowing
objec i e:
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OBJECTIVES OF THE STUDY
1. To s udy he di e ence in social skills among senio
seconda y school s uden s ega ding hei oca ional
aspi a ions.
2. To s udy he di e ence in social skills among senio
seconda y school s uden s abou hei academic
achie emen .
3. To s udy he in e ac ional e ec be ween oca ional
aspi a ion and academic achie emen wi h espec o social
skills among senio seconda y school s uden s.
HYPOTHESES OF THE STUDY
1. The e will be no signi ican di e ence in social skills
among senio seconda y school s uden s wi h espec o
hei oca ional aspi a ions.
2. The e will be no signi ican di e ence among senio
seconda y school s uden s wi h espec o hei academic
achie emen .
3. The e will be no signi ican in e ac ional e ec be ween
oca ional aspi a ion and academic achie emen wi h
espec o social skills among senio seconda y school
s uden s.
METHODOLOGY
In he p esen s udy, he su ey echnique unde he desc ip i e
me hod was employed o achie e he objec i es o he s udy.
SAMPLING
The da a we e ga he ed om he ou dis ic s o Himachal
P adesh, i.e., Shimla, Bilaspu , Hami pu , and Kang a. A o al
sample o 881 B.E. was comp ised in he p esen s udy.
RESEARCH TOOLS USED
The da a we e collec ed wi h he help o he Social Skills
Ra ing Scale de eloped by Sood, Anand, and Kuma . The
collec ed da a we e analyzed by using he s a is ical me hod o
‘Analysis o Va iance’ (Two-Way).
ANALYSIS OF DATA
Fo inding ou he main e ec s o signi ican di e ence in he
mean social skills o senio seconda y school s uden s wi h
di e en le el o oca ional aspi a ion a iable was conside ed
a h ee le els i.e. high oca ional aspi a ion, mode a e
oca ional aspi a ion and less oca ional aspi a ion including
h ee le els o academic achie emen in p e ious class i.e. low
sco es (1s di ision), mode a e sco es (2nddi ision) and high
sco es (1s di ision). The mean social skills sco es o senio
seconda y school s uden s wi h espec o educa ional aspi a ion
and academic achie emen in he p e ious class a e gi en in
Table 1
Table 1. Means And S anda d De ia ions o Social Skills Sco es Abou Voca ional Aspi a ion and Academic Achie emen
S . No.
Academic
Achie emen
Voca ional Aspi a ion
Mean Social Skill Sco e
High Le el
Mode a e le el
Low Le el
To al
I
High Le el
Mean
313.20
370.17
331.40
316.21
S.D.
58.352
25.585
64.810
58.498
N
133
6
5
144
II
Mode a e Le el
Mean
302.86
317.26
304.29
303.95
S.D.
52.567
48.871
54.742
52.408
N
583
47
14
644
III
Low Le el
Mean
306.83
300.22
312.33
306.37
S.D.
55.344
33.830
50.332
53.133
N
81
9
3
93
IV
To al
Mean
304.99
319.90
311.55
306.21
S.D.
53.924
48.124
55.005
53.649
N
797
62
22
881
Fo inding ou he main e ec s o educa ional aspi a ion and
academic achie emen in he p e ious class on social skills
among senio seconda y school s uden s, along wi h hei
in e ac ional e ec s, wo-way ‘Analysis o Va iance’ (3X3
ac o design) was applied. The summa y o he esul s o he
analysis o a iance o senio seconda y school s uden s abou
educa ional aspi a ion and academic achie emen in he
p e ious class is gi en in Table 2
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Table 2: Summa y O Resul s o Analysis o Va iance o Social Skills o Senio Seconda y School S uden s Wi h
Respec o Voca ional Aspi a ion and Academic Achie emen
NS……………. No Signi ican *signi ican a 0.05 le el o signi icance
Main E ec s
(a) Voca ional Aspi a ion (A)
The calcula ed alue o 'F' o inding he main e ec o
oca ional aspi a ion on social skills o senio seconda y school
s uden s, o deg ees o eedom 2 and 872, came ou o be
3.234, which is g ea e han he F- able alue (3.00) a he 0.05
le el o signi icance. Hence, Hypo hesis no. 1, “The e will be
no signi ican di e ence in social skills among senio seconda y
school s uden s abou hei oca ional aspi a ion,” was no
e ained. So, i was in e ed ha he senio . Seconda y school
s uden s possessing di e en le els o oca ional aspi a ion
di e ed signi ican ly om each o he in hei social skills.
Fu he , o ind ou he signi icance o he di e ence in mean
social skills sco es o senio seconda y school s uden s
possessing di e en le els o oca ional aspi a ion in di e en
combina ions (conside ing wo g oups a a ime), he Tukey-
K ame es (used in case o unequal g oups wi h homogeneous
a iance on he dependen a iable) was applied. The compu ed
and c i ical alues o ‘q’ (s uden ized ange s a is ic) and
espec i e mean di e ences a e gi en in Table 3
TABLE 3: Compu ed and C i ical Values o ‘q’ (S uden ized Range S a is ic) and Weigh ed Mean Di e ences in Social Skills o Senio
Seconda y School S uden s wi h Di e en Le els o Voca ional Aspi a ion
S . No
Voca ional Aspi a ion
O e all Mean Social Skills Sco e
Pai o Compa ison
Mean Di e ence
Compu ed Values o ‘q’
A1
High
316.21
A1-A2
12.26
2.86 NS
A2
Mode a e
303.95
A2-A3
2.42
0.57 NS
A3
Low
306.37
A1-A3
9.84
2.30 NS
NS ----------------No Signi ican
C i ical Values o ‘q’ = 3.314 (a 0.05 le el) and 4.12 (a 0.01
le el), ( o d 878, Numbe o g oups compa ed=3).
The compu ed alues o ‘q’ (S uden ized Range S a is ic) o
social skills sco es we e compa ed wi h he c i ical alue (Table
alue o ‘q’) o h ee g oups o senio seconda y school
s uden s classi ied based on hei oca ional aspi a ion. I was
obse ed ha senio seconda y school s uden s possessing high
le el o oca ional aspi a ion, mode a e le el o oca ional
aspi a ion and low le el o oca ional aspi a ion because
compu ed ‘q’ alue i.e. 2.86 (High Vs. Mode a e), 0.57
(Mode a e Vs Low) and 2.30 (High Vs Low) we e less han he
c i ical alue o ‘q’ (3.314) a he 0.05 signi icance le el wi h
878 deg ees o eedom. This means ha al hough small
di e ences exis in he g oup means (316.21, 303.95, and
306.37), espec i ely. These di e ences a e no la ge enough o
conclude ha hey ep esen ue popula ion di e ences a he
han chance a ia ions. In o he wo ds, he Tukey es indica es
ha he h ee g oups a e s a is ically simila wi h espec o hei
mean sco es.
(b) Academic Achie emen (B)
The calcula ed alue o ‘F’ o inding ou he main e ec on
mean social skills sco es among senio seconda y school
s uden s wi h di e en le els o oca ional aspi a ion came ou
o be 2.414, which is less han he able alue (3.00) a he 0.05
le el.
O signi icance, o deg ees o eedom 2 and 872. Hence,
Hypo hesis No. 2, “The e will be no signi ican di e ence in
social skills among senio seconda y school s uden s abou hei
academic achie emen ,” was e ained. The e o e, i may be
in e ed ha senio seconda y school s uden s did no di e
signi ican ly in e ms o hei social skills wi h espec o
academic achie emen .
(c) In e ac ional E ec s (AXB)
The compu ed alue o ‘F-Ra io’ o he in e ac ional e ec o
oca ional aspi a ion and academic achie emen on social skills
among senio seconda y school s uden s, o deg ees o
eedom 4 and 872, came ou o be 1.288, which is less han he
able alue (2.38) a he 0.05 le el o signi icance. Hence,
Hypo hesis No. 3, “The e will be no signi ican in e ac ion
be ween educa ional aspi a ion and academic achie emen in
he p e ious class abou social skills among senio seconda y
school s uden s,” was e ained. I means ha oca ional
aspi a ion and academic achie emen in he p e ious class did
no in e ac signi ican ly wi h espec o he social skills o
senio seconda y school s uden s. The e o e, i may be
in e p e ed ha he oca ional aspi a ion and academic
achie emen in he p e ious class aken oge he did no a ec
S . No.
Sou ce o Va ia ion
Sum o Squa es
d
Mean Squa e (Va iance)
F-Ra io
1.
Voca ional Aspi a ion
18439.508
2
9219.754
3.234*
2.
Academic Achie emen
13765.783
2
6882.892
2.414(NS)
3.
Voca ional Aspi a ion ×Academic Achie emen
14685.190
4
3671.298
1.288(NS)
4.
E o Va iance
2485847.443
872
2850.742
5.
To al
85136969.00
881
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he social skills o senio seconda y school s uden s
signi ican ly.
DISCUSSION OF FINDINGS
The indings o he s udy o e impo an insigh s o educa o s,
pa en s, and policymake s in unde s anding he ole o social
skills in ela ion o oca ional aspi a ion and academic
achie emen among senio seconda y school s uden s. The
esul s e ealed ha s uden s wi h di e en le els o oca ional
aspi a ion signi ican ly di e ed in hei social skills, indica ing
ha ca ee - ela ed goals and ambi ions ha e a meaning ul
impac on he de elopmen o social compe ence. This sugges s
ha when s uden s a e mo i a ed and aspi e owa d pa icula
oca ions, hey end o display s onge communica ion,
decision-making, and in e pe sonal skills ha help hem pu sue
hei goals e ec i ely. The e o e, schools should in eg a e
ca ee guidance and counseling p og ams ha no only suppo
s uden s in explo ing oca ional choices bu also p o ide
s uc u ed oppo uni ies o de elop essen ial social skills needed
o u u e p o essional success. On he o he hand, he s udy
ound no signi ican di e ence in social skills among s uden s
wi h a ying le els o academic achie emen . This implies ha
academic pe o mance alone may no de e mine an adolescen ’s
social compe ence. Consequen ly, educa o s mus no assume
ha high-achie ing s uden s au oma ically possess s ong social
skills, no should hey unde es ima e he po en ial o a e age o
low-achie ing s uden s in his a ea. Ins ead, equal emphasis
should be placed on li e skills educa ion, coope a i e lea ning,
pee in e ac ion, and ex acu icula ac i i ies o os e social
compe ence among all s uden s, ega dless o academic
s anding. Addi ionally, he esul s indica ed ha oca ional
aspi a ion and academic achie emen aken oge he did no
signi ican ly in luence social skills. This highligh s he
impo ance o ea ing social skills as an independen
de elopmen al domain ha equi es ocused a en ion in he
school cu iculum. S uc u ed p og ams such as ole plays,
g oup p ojec s, communi y se ice, and alue-based educa ion
can se e as e ec i e ools o enhance social compe ence.
Mo eo e , collabo a ion be ween pa en s and eache s is
essen ial in p o iding a suppo i e en i onmen ha nu u es
bo h oca ional cla i y and in e pe sonal g ow h. In conclusion,
he educa ional implica ions o his s udy emphasize ha social
skills should be de eloped pu pose ully and inclusi ely among
senio seconda y school s uden s. By aligning ca ee counseling
wi h social skills aining and by ensu ing equal oppo uni ies
o s uden s o all academic le els, schools can con ibu e o he
holis ic de elopmen o adolescen s, p epa ing hem no only
o academic success bu also o esponsible ca ee s and ac i e
pa icipa ion in socie y.
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