The need and opportunities for developing emotional intelligence in education

Abstract

Emotional intelligence directly influences teacher performance as one of the indicators of successful teaching evaluation. In a comprehensive meta-analysis, Martins, Ramalho, and Morin (2010) showed that emotional intelligence is clearly, strongly, and unequivocally related to mental and physical health. They examined emotional intelligence in relation to school performance. It was shown that emotional intelligence has organisational, clinical, health, educational and social implications. Another question of great interest and importance is whether emotional intelligence can be developed. Recent evidence from Di Fabio and Kenny (2011) suggests that specific training may have significant benefits. We need to know more about what type of training is needed and why (Di Fabio & Kenny, 2011).

In this publication we seek answers to the following questions:

- Can emotional intelligence be developed in education?

- If it can be developed, how?

- Is there a link between emotional intelligence and empathy?

- What are the links between emotional intelligence and coping strategies?

It is assumed that emotional intelligence can be learned. From birth, children are able to decode the feelings of others, express their own emotional state, delay or even control their emotions, i.e. they learn to "manage their emotions" (Kádár, A., 2012). Therefore, it is important that teacher education institutions and teacher training should place more emphasis on the development of emotional intelligence. This development is necessary for two reasons. Firstly, as our research has shown, the number of teachers who become emotionally weak, putting their own and their students' mental health at risk, increases in proportion to the length of time in the profession. On the other hand, their relational skills suggest that the majority of these teachers are capable of effective interpersonal relationships, as they are well-intentioned, willing to care about others, and even their strong desire to conform is underpinned by a desire to maintain good social relationships (Baracsi, 2011).