Emotional Intelligence in Early Childhood

8/7/2019 Emotional Intelligence in Early Childhood

http://slidepdf.com/reader/full/emotional-intelligence-in-early-childhood 1/8

Early Childhood Education Journal. Vo l. 33. No. I. August 2005 (© 200 5)DO I; 10.1007/s 10643-005-0014-6

The Emotionally Intelligent Early Childhood Educator:

Self-Reflective Journaling

Janet Pickard Kremenitzer*'^

A current interest in education is the growing awareness that the development of social and

emotional skills in children is critical for the foundation of academic knowledge in the

classroom. The early childhood edu cator is in a position to be a powerful nurturer of the social

emotional development in young children. It is important, therefore, to challenge early

childhood teachers, particularly veteran teachers, to take a closer look at their own social and

emotional skills and to systematically reassess these skills through an emotionally intelligent

" lens" . The field of emotional intelligence is a new and exciting area of academic research that

looks at emotional abilities within the following four domains: (1) perception skills; (2)

accessing skills; (3) understanding skills; and (4) regulation skills. This article presents a

userfriendly methodology to assess and enhance the emotional intelligence abilities of teachers,

and thereby impact the abilities of the young children they teach.

KEY WORDS: social-emotional; emotional learning; emotional intelligence; early ehildhood educators;reflective journaling ; abilities training; hyper-awareness; selfappraisal.

A current interest in education is the growing

awareness that the development of social and emo-

tional skills in children is critical for the foundation

of academic knowledge achievement in the class-

room. As evidence of this trend, the Collaborative for

Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)

has produced a guide to help educators select

potential materials from over 80 classroom-based

programs that were reviewed by this organization of

educational researchers (CASEL, 2003). The great

importance of social and emotional learning withinthe early childhood community has always been a

vital component in the training and development of

early childhood practitioners and it has been sug-

'University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT, USA.

^Correspondence should be directed to Janet Pickard Kremenitzer,

Llniversity of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford,

CT 06117-1599, USA; e-mail: [email protected]

gested that these practitioners, because of the vital

foundational work they do, be considered very

"special" educators and in effect, a model for all

teachers at all levels (Kremenitzer & Miller, 2003).

Good early childhood teachers inherently know

that they are a significant influence on the future

academic and life success of their students because

they have been specifically trained to have a child-

focused view that nurtures social and emotional

development in young learners . However, teacher

sometimes can become complacent in their practiceand unknowingly fall into patterns or habits that they

might not be aware of that could be less than optimal.

It is important, therefore, to challenge early child-

hood teachers, particularly veteran teachers, to take a

closer look at their own social and emotional skills

within the classroom setting and to systematically

reassess these skills through an emotionally intelhgent

"lens". An analogy can be seen in the need for adult

passengers on a commercial airline traveling with

1082-3301/05/0800-0003/0 © 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.



Kremenitzer

small children to be instructed by airline personnel

that before one puts an oxygen mask on a child, one

must first place a mask on oneself. Periodically, it is

important to take a look at the key role model for

children in the classroom, the teacher. Toward that

end, this article will present a practical approach forearly childhood teachers to use to re-evaluate aspects

of their practice through the analysis of some of their

own emotional intelligence abilities.

The field of Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a very

new and exciting area of academic study. Peter Sa-

lovey and John Mayer first coined the term emotional

intelligence in 1990 (Salovey & Mayer, 1990) and it

has since been highly popularized to the general

public by Daniel Goleman (1995). It is considered

part of the more contemporary view that looks at

intelligence as a multi-faceted entity versus the tra-

ditional approach implied by a global or "g" score

such as that measured by an IQ test. The Salovey and

Mayer model is philosophically consistent with both

the multiple intelligences model of Howard Gardner

(1993) partieularly the domains of intra-personal and

inter-personal skills, and the successful intelligences

model of Robert Sternberg (1996). All of these

models have the commonality of identifying specific

abilities that have the potential to be developed

through practice, awareness, and training.

AN ABILITY TO BE DEVELOPED:EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

The Mayer and Salovey (1997) revised model of

emotional intelligence highlights four categories or

"branches" highlighting the following abilities: (1)

the ability to perceive accurately, appraise, and ex-

press emotion; (2) the ability to access and/or gen-

erate feelings when they help you to think better; (3)

the ability to understand emotion and emotional

knowledge; and (4) the ability to reflect on, manage,

and regulate emotions to promote emotional and

intellectual growth.

Looking at each "branch" individually, the tea-cher can see how important it is to remind oneself of

these emotional abilities and to try and increase one's

sensitivity to be thinking about them when in the

classroom as well as outside. This sensitivity can be

considered being "hyper-aware" of important details

as one increases in skill. As a baseline personal check

the teacher can first look at each branch and using a

focused hyper-awareness strategy reflect upon and

ponder the following questions:

Branch One: Perception, Appraisal, and Expression

of Emotion

Questions to ponder:

• Am 1 good at identifying how I am feeling?

• Am I good at identifying how my stude nts are feeling?• Would most people I know consider me to be perceptive

regarding my emotional state and theirs?

• Am I able to notice when my students are angry, sad, bored

etc.?

• Wh at can I begin to do to increase my perception of

emotions?

Write down your current appraisal of yourself regarding

the abilities found in "branch one" and what you think

you might try to do to increase your abilities here.

Branch Two: Emotional Eacilitation of Thinking


• Am 1 good at identifying emotional swings in myself and

in others?

• Am I able to counsel myself in delaying imp ortan t decisions

if I am in a negative stale?

• Do 1 try to do creative and interesting projects when I am

in a highly positive and motivated state?

• Can 1 also identify optimal limes for my students to work

on certain projects?

Write down your current appraisal of yourself regarding the

abilities found in "branch two" and what you think you might do

to increase your abilities here.

Branch Three: Understanding and Analyzing Emotions


• Am 1 good at finding the right word(s) to use to express

my feelings?

• Can I help my students to use words appropriately

to express themselves both at positive and negative times?

• Am I good at understand ing what causes children to

feel and behave in a certain way?

• Am I good at remindin g myself abo ut the different

developmental stages and that sometimes students act

in a more "mature" or " immature" manner and to see the

"whole child" in perspective and not just an isolated event?



Emotionally Intelligent ECEducator

Write down your current appraisal of yourself regarding the

abilities found in "branch three" and what you think you

might do to increase your abilities here.

Branch Four: Reflective Regulation of Emotions

Quest ions to ponder :

• Am I good when 1 am "caught off -guard" and good at

responding to an unexpected event?

• Am I able to self-regulate my behavior even under

very difficult circumstances?

• Can t model good self-regulation for my s tudents and

use this as a " t eachable moment" for how they

could similarly regulate in the future?

Wri te down your current appraisal of yourself regarding the

abilities found in "branch four " and what you think you might

do to increase your abilities here.

REELECTIVE JOURNALING

Special Highlight onRegulating and Managing

Emotions

The concept of reflective practice and reflective

practitioners has been a par t of the education pro-

fession since the writings of Dewey (1933). One of the

chief objectives of reflecting upon what we do is the

hope that we can alter anything that is not working

and make it better the next time. The self appraisal

responses of the questions posed to each of the above

branches should serve as a "mind jogger" for where

the teaeher is functioning now and can serve as a

jumping ofl" point for self-improvement over time.

The initial responses that the teacher made can be

explored further through the use of a specially

designated "emo tional intelligence" journ al tha t a

teacher can begin to keep.I have introduced the concept of developing a

teacher 's own emotional intelligence into several of

the teacher preparation courses that I teach at both

the graduate and undergraduate level for initial cer-

tification in elementary education but I believe it is

applicable to teachers at all levels and at all stages of

their career paths. I have used a technique that in-

cludes focused reflective journaling accompanied by

group sharing of experiences as a method My teacher

candidates have found this to be an essential part of

their "bag of tr icks" that they need to have as they

begin their careers. These teacher candidates keep a

speciflc daily "focused EI Journa l" and post an

example or two each week to Blackboard (Bb) where

I can review and facilitate a classroom discussion oftheir self "cases" with the entire class. At the end of

the semester, I have them review all of their EI

notat ions and to write a meta-cognition essay. Over

the past year, I have had 47 pre-service teachers en-

gage in this practice. One typical reflection from a

student teacher captures the essence of this sentiment.

" t have to admit that at first t did not think that

keeping a j ournal to track your emotional intelli-

gence was going to be an effective method for me.

1 was very wrong. 1 have learned so much about

myself throughout this process, t feel that t have in

fact developed a keener sense of 'hyper-awareness . '

This is an essential skill for all teachers to possess.I find that teaching not only can it be very stressful

and busy, but at times, it can be emotionally tax-

ing. By becoming aware of who you are and how

your react, you are better able to become a compe-

tent and professional educator. I find that even in

my personal life, remembering to 'catch myself has

saved me a lot of grief in the end. After spending a

significant amount of time trying to become aware

of my emotional self, I realize that most issues both

professionally and personally are better resolved

when you are truly in a calmer place, such as neu-

tral. To give your self a moment to consciously

make the choice, to get to a different place emo-

tionally, is the key to productive problem solving.

My secret weapon is now being able to control my

emotional response by flipping the switch to neutral

and handl ing a situation in a coherent and profes-

s ional manner ."

While the technique of reflective journaling, in

general, is much applied during the pre-service

training of early childhood student teachers it is

usually not continued once the individual becomes a

certifled teacher. Keeping an emotional intelligence

personal journal for several weeks with a particular

"hyper-awareness" focus on the abilities related to

regulating and managing emotions is a recommended

tool for consideration by classroom teachers, partic-ularly those who are long removed from their initial

pre-service training. I have also worked with in-ser-

vice teachers on maintaining similar journals while

they are teaching. If teachers are "held responsible"

for journaling, even if it is for meeting the require-

ments of a graduate course or in-service professional

development, it can serve as a powerful tool for self-

emotional intelligence training. The following excerpt

comes from a primary grade music teacher who was



Kremenitzer

taking one of my graduate courses as part of his CEU

professional development requirements:

The students enter the classroom after recess and

they are very loud, still using "outside voices". One

boy is yelling at another boy about being tripped

during the basketbal l game. Others are complaining

about being sweaty, overly hot, and needing a

drink of water. One girl is screaming at the girl

next to her about crowding her space. Mr. Dwyer,

a first year music teacher, ha s just re turned from

one of the other elementary schools he travels to

each week. He teaches many classes and only sees

each group once a week. He too is hot and sweaty

having been caught up in a road construction de-

tour. In frustration, Mr. Dwyer wants to raise his

voice above theirs but he catches himself and deci-

des to set a better example. He uses hand signs and

positive encouragement to get the students ' atten-

tion. The scenario gets even better when Mr.

Dwyer, in a soft tone, explains to the students that

he needs their help in that what he is now doing ispart of something he is learning in a graduate class

he is taking at the local university and this can be

helpful for his own homework. He explains that he

uses the correct behavior to teach the correct

behavior for any situation. Who could teach stu-

dents to be quiet by yelling at them? Mr. Dwyer

also asked them if they remembered how he

stopped and took a deep breath before addressing

the class and asked if they could see that the extra

time allowed him (as it would them) to make the

correct decision about how to behave. The children

were apparently delighted and also very proud to

know that Mr. Dwyer was going to write a para-

graph in his own homework journal about what

just happened and was going to share it with hisuniversity classmates and his own teacher that very

night when he would go to his adult class.

An alternative format that I have used with in-

service teachers is to serve as an EI mentor/coach by

observing them in their classroom, taking scripted

notes, and then having an e-mail "conversa tion" later

in the day with that teacher. This then serves as

"d at a" for either a weekly face to face discussion o r e-

mail dialogue. A weekly discussion summarized by

one teacher highlighted the following reflection

points:

"We discussed how helpful the scripting was so

that I could be aware of things that may be per-

ceived by others differently from their intention.

For example: the tapping I did on the table to

emphasize a general point for the whole class may

have (based on the transcript) been interpreted as

being directed at a particular student who was sit-

ting in that location and consequently may have

sent an incorrect message to that one student."

"We discussed how I feel that I like to be honest

with students and give them a signal or warning.

Rather than pretend to be feeling fine and then

blow up. I prefer to say that they are making me

angry o r that 1 am in no moo d for nonsense, o r

that 1 am crabby today. Then we both know where

we stand, as it is also a place of analysis for me

and gives me time to plan a reaction should the

ir r i tat ion cont inue."

"We discussed the awareness of the students as

well. In the script, when the class was interrupted

by an announcement that even the students felt was

r idiculous , we shared a common moment and

thought . By acknowledging the s tudent 's comment ,

and sharing my own frustration, we drew closer to-

gether in community and were able to go on with

what we needed to do."

This teacher felt that this process was such a

valuable experience for him that he thought that it

would be wonderful if the typically assigned mentors

for new teachers could speciflcally include this type of

hyper-awareness scripting as part of their mentorship

responsibilities. This would be a perfect opportunity

for the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and

Support Consortium (INTASC) to consider for all

new teachers. He was so delighted with this process

that he voluntarily wrote EI objectives for both

himself and his own students into his mandatory

professional development plan for annual review by

his principal. The "habit" of daily reflection and

journaling is an important one for teachers, even

within the reality of a very busy professional life.

Framed as part of a teacher's required professional

development plan will not then be seen as an addi-

tional "burden" on a teacher 's t ime, but rather,should be seen as a most efficient method for meeting

this requirement. Just as teachers maintain anecdotal

notations on their students, keeping these for oneself

will provide on-going and continuous assessment of

personal progress. Several of the in-service teachers

that I am working with are beginning to maintain

standardized records regarding the social-emotional

and academic progress of their students and we will

analyze the impact that their own emotional devel-

opment has had on their young student outcomes.

Preliminary opinion from anecdotal discussion is that

an increase in a teacher's EI signiflcantly impactsstudent learning in a powerful way both in academic

and inter-personal domains.

I believe that schools can similarly provide

training for both their new teachers as well as their

veteran staff (in this ease what is good for the novice

teacher is also good for the veterans) through on-

going professional activities and support that is

dedicated to emotional intelligence development.

This in-service training can be seen as a supplement



Emotionally Intelligent EC Educator

to what is taught in those teacher preparation pro-

grams that include emotional intelligence training

(and hopefully more programs will in the future) and/

or provide this much needed training for those who

have not yet been exposed. A suggested beginning

would be for schools to form "study groups" aroundthis topic and to utilize existing district personnel

such as school psychologists and guidance counselors

that can be designated as facilitators.

Being able to regulate and manage your emo-

tions within the classroom is an important factor for

effective and successful teaching. Unlike other skills

that a teacher has, the ability to respond to unan-

ticipated and difficult spontaneous situations is

perhaps the most challenging of all. When the time

frame for reflection is short, teaehers must be able to

make a quick emotional adjustment even in the

middle of a most negative situation. Every class-

room teacher knows that there will be many

potentially unstable or transitional moments

throughout the school day, some of which can be

anticipated, but many that will be unplanned. These

range from moving in and out of activities such as a

morning meeting, to going outside for recess, to the

annoying unexpected announcements over the loud

speaker, or fire drills. Accidents ean happen which

require sending a child to the nurse and parents may

need to take a child out of class for an appointment

in the middle of the school day. Children can act

out inappropriately at any given time and cause an

interruption in any lesson. With the Individual'swith Disabilit ies Education Act 's (IDEA) emphasis

on inclusion, children with specific additional needs

also factor into the probability equation that may

call for additional unexpected adjustments on the

part of the teacher. A teacher may be fighting off a

migraine headache or might have come to school

with worries regarding the health of a relative. All of

these "unknowns" can and do occur. Hargreaves

(2001) has used the term the "emotional geogra-

phies" of teaching and it is increasingly clear that

there is a need for teachers to adequately address

these varied and very real challenges. The goal forteachers when faced with unanticipated challenges is

to be able to have a mechanism that will allow them

to "plow through" the difficult moment and con-

tinue teaching. The following description of one

particular technique that has been used with

pre-service teachers in training (Kremenitzer &

Neuhaus, 2003) has been adapted for a broader

application for early childhood teachers in practice.

Table I provides an overview of this process.

Table I. Three Steps to Follow for Emotional Intelligence

Reflection

Define emotional states along a five point continuum. These

categories are specified: #1 = angry , frustrated, disgruntle d;

#2 = sad, disappointed; #3 = feeling neutral; #4 = happy;

and #5 = very happy, elated

determine some eflicient method that will work for you to

jot down quick anecdotal notations about your responses to

unanticipated and/or "jarring" classroom events

assess the evidence you collected regarding your own

emotional intelligence ability to regulate yourself under

difficult circumstances and invite at least one eolleague or

"buddy" to also participate in this exercise by similarly

making self-observations into their own emotional

inteihgence journal

TRAINING TO MAKE AN EMOTIONAL

ADJUSTMENT

The first step in this self-training is to define

emotional states along a five point continuum with

two states falling in the negative category, two in a

positive category, and one in a "neutral" category.

These categories are specified as the following:

#1 = angry, frustrated, disgruntled,

#2 = sad, disappointed,

#3 = feeling neutral,

#4 = happy,

#5 = very happy, elated.

The next step is to determine some efficient

me thod that will work for the teacher to jot d ownquick anecdotal notations about their own responses

to unanticipated and/or "jarring" events that oc-

curred in class and noting what was their reaction.

Was the result of this event that the teacher was

placed into a negative state of feeling disgruntled,

frustrated, angry, sad, or disappointed (categories

one or two)? Teachers can choose to use symbols

such as variations of smiley faces accompanied by

some abbreviated explanation that will later in the

day be transferred into their emotional intelligence

self jou rnal where a fuller description of the event can

be recorded. It is here that the teacher can note whatwas the background information relating to being in

category 1 or 2. W hat was the key event(s) that put

them into this negative state and were they able to

make a quick adjustment to get out of it and into a

more "neutral" s tate. Each day the teacher should

reflect back on any instances that they might not have

had the chan ce to jot do wn, a nd do so at this time.

The key recording should indicate were they able to

move through a negative moment and at least get into



Kremenitzer

a "neutral" place in order to keep on teaching in an

effective manner or were they unable to do so. These

observations should be recorded for at least a three

week period.

The final step is for the teacher to assess the

evidence that has been collected regarding their ownemotional intelligence ability to regulate themselves

under difficult circumstances. After reviewing the

emotional intelligence journal, does the teaeher see

a consistent pattern of being successful in being

able to get to "neutral" or an uneven pattern? Can

the teacher confidently declare that this is an ability

that they have or does it need more work? It is

highly recommended that a teaeher invite at least

one colleague or "buddy" to also participate in this

exercise by similarly making self-observations into

their own emotional intelligence journal. This will

allow for a peer exchange of ideas through a weekly

sharing, particularly for those instances when one

teacher finds that he/she is not able to get into

"neutral" and is "stuck" in a negative s tate.

Alternatively, a teacher could ask a willing "non-

participant" mentor to agree to lis ten to the journal

observations and be a "sounding board" for what

is being practiced.

Staying "neutral" is not meant to be a perma-

nent state but is only a temporary ability when in the

middle of a sudden unexpected awareness of being in

a negative state. It is a developed skill that teachers

need to have in order to adapt to all of the uncer-

tainties regarding classroom life and to be able to be

emotionally intelligent in the face of a difficult mo-

ment. It is eritical that early childhood teaehers

periodically do a "self-check" of this ability so that

they can remain as the wonderful role models that

they intend to be for the young children they have

devoted their careers to teaching. A teacher with

strong awareness of being able to "go into neutral"

can choose to use this as a "teachable moment" and

can explain to a class how he/she is choosing to

respond at any given moment. What better way to

teach social-emotional skills to young children than

by first hand example!

CONCL USIONS

The early childhood years are a critical time for

the foundation for all future learning. Social and

emotional skill development has always been a key

component of early childhood programs and the

early childhood teacher typically has strong skills in

nurturing emotional intelligence abilities in young

children. It is important for early childhood teachers

to periodically challenge their own practices to make

sure that they are consistently serving as good role

models for regulating emotions particularly under

stressful circumstances. Emotional intelligence abili-ties can be assessed thro ug h reflective self-journalin g

and this method is a productive way to analyze ones

own behavior and to make modifications if needed.

Early childhood teachers can use a method that is

typically part of pre-service teacher training to help to

"refresh" their own practice.

REFERENCES

CASEL: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and EmotionalLearning (2003). Safe and sound: An educational leader's guideto evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) pro-

grams. Chicago, IL: Author.Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of the relations of

reflective thinking to the educative process (2nd revised edition).Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath.

Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: The theory in practice.New York: Basic Books.

Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why it can mattermore than IQ. New York: Bantam.

Hargreaves, A. (2001). Emotional geographies of teaching. Teach-ers College Record, 103(6), 1056-1080.

Kremenitzer, J. P., & Miller, R. (2003). Role of early childhoodeducator: Practitioner, diagnostician, and super-teacher for all.The Journal of Early Education and Eamily Review, 10(4), 5-12.

Kremenitzer, J. P., & Neuhaus, K. (2003). The emotionallyintelligent teacher. 2003 National Association for the Educationof Young Children. Chicago, Illinois: Conference presentation,

April 8.Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence?In P. D. J. Salovey Sluyter (Ed.), Emotional development andemotional intelligence: Implications for educators (3-21)New York: Basic Books.

Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence.Imagination. Cognition, and Personality, 9, 185-211.

Sternberg, R. J. (1996). Successful Intelligence: How practical andcreative intelligence determine success in life. New York: Simonand Schuster, Inc.

SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL READINGS

Bocchino, R. (1999). Emotioned literacy: To be a different kind of

smart. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.

Cohen, J. (Ed.) (1999). Educating hearts and minds: Socialemotional learning and the passage into adolescence.New York: Teachers College Press.

DeRoche, E. F., & Williams, M. M. (1998). Edueating hearts and

minds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.Elias, M., & T obias, S. (1996). Social problem solving: Interventions

in the schools. New York: Guilford Press.Haynes, N., Ben-Avie & Ensign, J. (Eds.) (2003). How social and

emotional development add up: Getting results in math andscience education. New York: Teachers College Press.

Maurer, M., & Brackett, M. A. (2004). Emotional literacy in themiddle school. Port Chester, NY: National Professional

Resources, Inc.



Emotionally Intelligent EC Educ ator 9

Patti, J., & Tobin, J. (2003). Smart school leaders: Leading with Zins, J. E., Weissberg, R. P., Wang, M. C. & Walberg, H. J. (Eds)

emotional intelligenee. Dub uque , IA: Kendal l Hun t . (2004). Building academie success on social and emotional

Salovey, P., B rackett, M.,- & M ayer, J. D. (2004). Emotional learning: What does the research say? New York: Teachers

Intelligence: Key readings on the Mayer and Salovey model. College Press.

Port Chester, NY: National Professional Resources, Inc.



Documents

Emotional Intelligence in Early Childhood