Emphasise on Emotional Intelligence in School

Vinod Kakumanu
July 29, 2019, 4:38 p.m.

The role of emotional intelligence in school education

We’re living in a time where technology is actively influencing human mind. Since decades, the intellectual quotient (IQ) is arguably increasing consistently but from one generation to the next.

The emotional quotient (EQ) however is another story, This is the most unexpected time in the human history where generation is struggling for enhancing emotional intelligence to promote the competence of individuals getting admitted in the school, along with the teachers and professionals appointed by the school management to educate the students.

It has been a huge matter of concern for educational leaders on factors contributing in bringing out the desired learning outcomes, starting from Kindergarten to higher secondary.

When we talk about intelligence, we tend to exclusively think of Intellectual Quotient, without factoring in the emotional intelligence of an individual.

Discounting the role of emotional disposition in overall ability has made it tough for students to express themselves appropriately and communicate productively.

Outcomes from plethora of researches conducted in this field of study over a long period reveal major factors that have a bearing on an individual’s emotional intelligence:

Intellectual Quotient of students
Socioeconomic status
Motivation and peer-relationship
Student and Teacher relationship
Parental involvement and personality

Among all these factors, IQ had been commonly seen as the deciding element and the determinant of scholastic success. However, research says that that IQ alone is not a reliable forecaster of students’ academic achievement.

One of the most popular and most cited sources is Daniel Goleman’s famous book “Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ”. In his book, Sir Goleman (1995) states that only 20% of a person’s success can be credited to the state of IQ.

What does Emotional Intelligence mean?

The term ‘Emotional Intelligence’ was popularized by a Science Journalist and Researcher Sir Daniel Goleman. He used this word in his book which was successfully published in 1995 with the same name ‘Emotional Intelligence’. In this book, he had interestingly written the truth exposing the human mind/psychology and elaborated upon the entire human mindset along with spontaneously changeable behaviors.

Emotional Intelligence is the ability of an individual to balance the different forms of emotions surfacing within him/her. The derivative of emotional intelligence is called emotional quotient.

In the 21st century, this term has increasingly gained currency in the discourse of human potential and productivity.

Emotional intelligence is now increasingly given critical importance and is being considered the winning factor for the younger generation. The effect of technology on EQ therefore is in order to be reviewed.

Application of Emotional Intelligence for educators

We, as school educational leaders are votaries of the thought that gives importance to EQ for very practical reasons which namely are to promote social and cultural openness and vibrancy in schools, right from kindergarten onwards.

According to Sir Goleman, mistreatment, disciplinary problems and drug abuse decreased in schools with rise in EQ. and of course, with adequate emotional intelligence, academic performance improves besides personal behavior.

There is a strong connection to between EQ and Goleman’s motivational factor

Learning Culture stimulates curiosity in students and promotes feelings of satisfaction and pleasure when students engage themselves in the process of gathering new information and knowledge in a learning space.

The emotional intelligence of students starts evolving before they ever enter a school classroom, but levels vary depending on each child’s home environment. Thus school teachers need to be capable of recognizing those students whose emotional intelligence needs a lift and should provide students with proper guidance related to their mental health regularly. It can hardly be overemphasized.

Teachers are expected to be very comfortable to share their feelings openly in front of the students and should consider themselves ready to talk about their experiences in the classroom, in front of all the students. It means to say that no emotion is “wrong,” every emotion in human being should be adjudged objectively at some point and should not be stereotyped.

In the year of 2002, the global organization UNESCO introduced an international campaign to promote emotional learning in the schools which was highly influenced by Sir Daniel Goleman’s explanations given in his book. The U.N. body proposed of 10 basic EQ codes to education bureaus throughout the world. Those codes were guided by Goleman’s clarification of emotional intelligence.

Emotional Intelligence: Why does it matter?

All humans, regardless of their race or ethos, experience emotions in the cultural backdrop. The way of emoting is subject to evolution.

Emotion is also illustrated as a complex feeling which results in physical and mental changes affecting our day to day activities.

It includes feelings, thoughts, nervous system functioning, physiological variations, and behavioral changes.

There are philosophers and scientists who even predict that if we keep complementing our lives with the technology in the way we’re doing now, then that day is not far that machine will dictate human mind. The detractors of artificial intelligence go even further and predict an apocalyptic scenario. At any rate, it’s essential to work on balancing our emotions and to heed the development of EQ.

The researchers and scholars at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence used harsh study methods to understand the effects of emotions on students and the institutional body. This process had given them many opportunities to study emotional responses in-depth.

Emotional Intelligence makes easy for the student to practice the proper negotiation of their own and others’ behavior. This negotiation gives a student’s life perspective and helps in being more productive in one’s career.

Scientists at Yale Centre have shared around 400+ brief articles, a couple of curriculums, teaching modules of emotional intelligence, and some creative journals. Mutually, their study endorses the critical role of emotions and emotional intelligence.

The effect of cultivating EQ is not ambiguous. Students who are briefly taught about the learning of Emotional Intelligence skills behave appropriately, they sound more positive and optimistic and far less stressed than the students who aren’t mentored in emotional intelligence skills.

Emotional intelligence in students can help them in being self-aware. Self-Awareness gives an insight into one’s personality, beside ones forte, sensibilities, thoughts, opinions, intentions, and attitudes. As the students develop self-awareness in them, they get enabled to change their thoughts which in turn allows them to change their emotions and change their actions in time.
Students who are guided to recognize, manage, and express their feelings in a very constructive manner are less likely to undergo depression and other mental health problems.
Scholastic achievement is also enhanced. Students in schools with Emotional intelligence Learning delivers the average score of 11 percentile points higher on standardized tests than students in schools without Emotional intelligence Learning programs (Reference: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning—CASEL—a 4-year study of 207 school-based SEL programs).

What’s the best way to teach Emotional Intelligence skills in school?

The answer to this question completely depends on who is being taught and what is expected form the taught. Research practices emphasize on promoting advanced cum innovative and creative and effective methodologies for teaching emotional intelligence skills to students of different ages, teaching professionals, and education professionals.

A team of researchers from Terrie Moffitt of Duke University that followed a group of 1,000 children for 32 years concludes their study stating that students who can learn by age 10 to delay their pleasure and fun, control desires, and manage their expression become healthier, richer, and more responsible and undoubtedly the average productivity is higher.

The entire study shows that Emotional Learning Skills has become a necessity for delivering satisfactory outcomes in academics, relationships, and employment. And, with time, the exercise of all these skills in the schooling institutions is rapidly growing.

A book written by Thomas McSheehy, “In Focus: Improving Social-Emotional Intelligence, One Day at a Time”, can help teachers succeed in the significant task of empowering their students’.

The education of emotional intelligence learning should be considered as a major deliverable of our education system, especially for K-12 schools.

The awareness of emotional learning can help the students in experiencing growth and established them socially by negotiating the emotions with their surroundings.

To make every student future-ready and create a better social and emotional existence for them, the regular cultivation of emotional quotient should be undertaken. Indeed, that is the key to the better society.

Every individual coming to the school including school authorities need to address the vast spectrum of emotions and should not hesitate to show regard for each other as we’re humans and we appreciate unconditional regard.

What does Emotional Intelligence mean?

Emotional Intelligence is the ability of an individual to balance the different forms of emotions surfacing within him/her. The derivative of emotional intelligence is called emotional quotient.

In the 21st century, this term has increasingly gained currency in the discourse of human potential and productivity.

Emotional intelligence is now increasingly given critical importance and is being considered the winning factor for the younger generation. The effect of technology on EQ, therefore, is in order to be reviewed.

Application of Emotional Intelligence for educators

According to Sir Goleman, mistreatment, disciplinary problems and drug abuse decreased in schools with rising in EQ. and of course, with adequate emotional intelligence, academic performance improves besides personal behavior.

There is a strong connection to between EQ and Goleman’s motivational factor:

Emotional Intelligence: Why does it matter?

All humans, regardless of their race or ethos, experience emotions in the cultural backdrop. The way of emoting is subject to evolution.

Emotion is also illustrated as a complex feeling which results in physical and mental changes affecting our day to day activities.

It includes feelings, thoughts, nervous system functioning, physiological variations, and behavioral changes. There are philosophers and scientists who even predict that if we keep complementing our lives with the technology in the way we’re doing now, then that day is not far that machine will dictate human mind. The detractors of artificial intelligence go even further and predict an apocalyptic scenario. At any rate, it’s essential to work on balancing our emotions and to heed the development of EQ.

Emotional intelligence in students can help them in being self-aware. Self-Awareness gives an insight into one’s personality, beside ones forte, sensibilities, thoughts, opinions, intentions, and attitudes. As the students develop self-awareness in them, they get enabled to change their thoughts which in turn allows them to change their emotions and change their actions in time.
Students who are guided to recognize, manage, and express their feelings in a very constructive manner are less likely to undergo depression and other mental health problems.
Scholastic achievement is also enhanced. Students in schools with Emotional intelligence Learning delivers the average score of 11 percentile points higher on standardized tests than students in schools without Emotional intelligence Learning programs (Reference: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning—CASEL—a 4-year study of 207 school-based SEL programs).

What’s the best way to teach Emotional Intelligence skills in school?

The education of emotional intelligence learning should be considered as a major deliverable of our education system, especially for K-12 schools.

The awareness of emotional learning can help the students in experiencing growth and established them socially by negotiating the emotions with their surroundings.