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A Post-Pandemic Examination of Teachers' Emotional Intelligence: Taking Care of Teachers to Take Care of Students

Poster 3

5/21/24, 9:30 PM

Teachers recognize that emotional intelligence is necessary for effective teaching and meaningful student relationships. Come learn why, and how to promote better professional development.

Daniella G. Varela

Texas A&M University-Kingsville

Keywords:

Emotional intelligence, teacher-student relationships, professional development

The COVID-19 Pandemic impacted the education system in a number of ways, and teachers are on the front lines as the most direct connection to students and students' needs. This session presents the findings of qualitative research on what teachers understand about their own emotional intelligence, and their needs for better professional development to best serve students in this new era. Discussion includes findings that reveal educators' sense of being underqualified to properly serve their students emotional needs. Recommendations for practice and targeted, improved professional development opportunities are included.

Hear it from the author:

A Post-Pandemic Examination of Teachers' Emotional Intelligence: Taking Care of Teachers to Take Care of Students

Transcript:

In our study, A Post-Pandemic Examination of Teachers' Emotional Intelligence, we sought
to explore and understand secondary educators’ perceptions of emotional intelligence after
COVID-19.

The study employed a qualitative approach, and interviews were conducted with secondary
educators to understand their perceptions of emotional intelligence and job performance.
Participants revealed that emotional intelligence is necessary, valuable, and a priority for
educators to have, and reported the need for professional development and frustration with a lack
of support from school leaders. Results provide a guiding source for both educators and
administrators to best support and promote emotional intelligence as crucial to the teaching
profession.

The data collected revealed that there is a lack of support for and exposure to E.I. for educators.
Findings confirm that there is a need for E.I. training and through interviews, we learned that
educators expressed their frustrations due to the lack of support from their administration.
Educators feel under qualified to properly serve their students’ emotional needs.
Educators repeatedly emphasized how necessary E.I. is in this career; one must be aware of their
own E.I. in order to handle situations properly and react in a professional manner. Professional
development was the upmost major concern raised by the participants. The lack of training was
upsetting, frustrating, and left educators feeling unprepared. In essence, our mission should be to
take care of teachers to take care of students.
References:

Hamid, P. A., Suriansyah, A., & Ngadimun, N. (2019). The relationship between interpersonal and emotional intelligence on teacher performance. Journal of K6 Education and Management, 2(1), 71-77. 


Jůvová, A., & Duda, O. (2021). Emotional intelligence factors helping teachers cope with emotionally tense situations and enhancing effective pedagogical communication. E- Pedagogium, 21(2). 


Li, M., Pérez-Díaz, P. A., Mao, Y., & Petrides, K. V. (2018). A multilevel model of teachers’ job performance: Understanding the effects of trait emotional intelligence, job satisfaction, and organizational trust. Frontiers in Psychology, 9, 2420. 


Perez, A., Varela, D. G., Liang, Y. & Jones, D. (2023) Secondary educators’ perceptions of emotional intelligence proficiency after COVID-19. International Journal of Education, 36(3). http://www.nationalforum.com/Electronic%20Journal%20Volumes/Perez,%20Amanda%20Secondary%20Educators%20Perception%20%20NFAERJ%20V35%20N3%202023.pdf

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