Emotional Intelligence and Social and Emotional Learning: (Mis)Interpretation of Theory and Its Influence on Practice

Abstract

Drawing on qualitative case study data gathered from a range of managerial, teaching and nonteaching staff members across four British primary schools, this paper focusses on the activities used to enhance the social, emotional and behavioural skills of children within these establishments. The data revealed how staff hoped to improve the pupils' levels of Emotional Intelligence (EI) through Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) models. Whilst differences and similarities are reported both within and between schools, the findings indicate that staff interpretation of EI as a theoretical and conceptual framework strongly influenced their social and emotional work with children. I make the case that the (mis)interpretation of theory led to instances where some behaviours, valued within specific communities, were marginalised and problematized by the schools' enactment of SEL practice. After discussing the main implications of these findings, a range of directives are offered that may allow schools to achieve more culturally inclusive practice when utilising SEL in future.

A Meta-Analysis: Emotional Intelligence and its Effect on Mathematics Achievement

“…Emotional intelligence is identified as being able to improve students' academic achievement (Sukriadi et al, 2016: Jhorgi, 2021Izza, 2020). Emotional intelligence is a person's ability to recognize and manage emotions appropriately, empathize, motivate, and control oneself and others (Mansir & Karim, 2020;Ngui & Lay, 2020;Chinyere & Afeez, 2019;Pekaar et al, 2020;Perry et al, 2020;Wood, 2020). In other words, emotional intelligence is a person's intelligence to control and adapt logically to his environment (Trigueros et al, 2019;Kustyarini, 2020).…”

Staying with discomfort: Early childhood teachers’ emotional themes in relation to children's peer-culture aggression

“…This study joins those of a growing number of reconceptualist scholars who have been recently seeking to disrupt and dismantle traditional ways of performing emotions and developing teacher emotional subjectivities in the early childhood classroom (Albin-Clark, 2020;Andrew, 2015;Madrid, 2013;Madrid, Baldwin and Frye, 2013;Colley, 2006;Elfer, 2012;Jacobson, 2018;Morris, 2021;Moss, 2014;Osgood, 2006Osgood, , 2010Page, 2011Page, , 2017Page, , 2018Taggart, 2011Taggart, , 2016Wood, 2020). Emotional-display rules exert a disciplinary force, which permits individuals to experience and express certain emotions while prohibiting them from expressing others, based on their sociopolitical and cultural positionality (Ahmed, 2004;Chubbuck and Zembylas, 2008;Zembylas, 2008Zembylas, , 2010.…”

Community engagement education in academic health centers, colleges, and universities

“…They reinforce the synergism across learning, action, and reflection [79]. Reflective learning exercises can adapt approaches used for understanding and teaching emotional intelligence, particularly those related to social change [34,[80][81][82]. Keeping a reflective journal or field note during the experience is an excellent way to record thoughts and feelings about things that went well and those that did not go well or as expected.…”