What Role Does Emotional Intelligence Play in Children

7/30/2019 What Role Does Emotional Intelligence Play in Children

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What role does emotional intell igence play in chil dren's learn ing, and how can teachers

use it to improve pupil 's behaviour?

Emotional intelligence can be defined as a persons ability to perceive, assess and manage

the emotions of ones self, of others, and of groups. Teachers need to understand the conceptbecause it can have a profound impact upon the way they teach, the lessons they deliver, the

relationships they develop with their pupils and the results that pupils ultimately achieve.

In its 2001 white paper on secondary schools, the government pronounced its goal of

strengthening the emotional intelligence of pupils because it recognised that doing so would

significantly improve pupils behaviour and raise levels of achievement. Moreover, at the root

of the DCSF and Ofsteds desire to personalise learning is the notion of emotional

intelligence. The idea of personalised learning is based on the theories of Howard Gardner,

the American psychologist, who believed that we all have multiple intelligences. He

enumerated nine intelligences in total but stressed that two of these intelligences, the

intrapersonal (the relationship one has with oneself) and interpersonal (the relationships onehas with other people), are the most important, and predictive of the greatest success one has

in life. Later, Daniel Goleman developed these ideas in his book Emotional Intelligence

(1995). In particular, both Gardner and Goleman stressed that teachers were receiving a false

impression of a pupils overall intelligence if they simply relied on intelligence quotient (IQ)

tests, which only tested a narrow selection of intelligences such as their mathematical, logical

and verbal reasoning skills. Goleman (1995) also noted that a high IQ was not predictive of

later success in life whereas a persons ability to socialise, to inspire others and to be self-

motivated was. He went on to highlight the fact that schools that were aware of these larger

issues tended not only to produce happier, more rounded individuals, but also to attain better

academic results.

These findings are vitally important for teachers to bear in mind when structuring their

lessons and delivering the curriculum: they suggest that tasks that encourage emotional

intelligence will also reap academic and social rewards.

Emotional intell igence programmes in the UK

While many successful emotional intelligence programmes have been running for a decade in

the United States of America, where the idea first originated, schools in the United Kingdom

have only just started adopting some of the emotional intelligence philosophy. Preliminary

research findings are already very encouraging. Several primary schools have reported a drop

in serious incidents and exclusions since receiving emotional intelligence toolkits. Fiftyschools across six counties are now teaching emotion-related subjects at the behest of the

government, while hundreds of others are using emotional intelligence programmes on a

more ad hoc basis. Of 10 Southend schools in the project, eight reported reduced truancy, nine

reported fewer fixed-term exclusions and at least seven reported improvements in learning in

English and mathematics. In Plymouth, three schools reported a drop in serious behaviour

incidents and in repeat fixed-term exclusions.

Suzanne Corrywright of VisionWorks, a teacher training organisation that specialises in

training teachers to use emotional intelligence in the classroom, believes that these

programmes not only help curtail antisocial behaviour but they can also assist with improving

results. Daniel Goleman always spoke of how he hoped his work would be used in schools,she says. Ironically, it was picked up by American business schools who, seeing that the


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ability to relate with others was the most significant key to success, used his principles to

make an emotional quotient test, which is a more reliable predictor of success than IQ tests.

Only now, many years after the book was written, are his ideas being picked up by schools for

dealing with issues such as bullying and antisocial behaviour.

How understanding emotional intelligence can help teachers in the classroomDaniel Goleman divides emotional intelligence into four main areas:

self-awareness self-management social awareness relationship management.

Understanding these different components will assist in helping teachers to shape the teaching

materials that they feel are appropriate for their pupils. First and most important is

encouraging a pupil to be aware of their emotions when they are finding a piece of work

difficult. This is particularly pertinent with pupils with special educational needs: certain

types of work may stir up negative feelings in them, which need to be addressed by the

teacher in a systematic fashion. For example, a pupil with dyslexia may well feel angry and

frustrated when asked to do a spelling test or when they attempt to spell certain words. The

first step towards solving this would be for the teacher to encourage the pupil to label their

feelings by firstly mirroring the pupils language when they respond in a frustrated fashion.

A pupil might say, I hate doing this! The teacher should not respond immediately but then

repeat the phrase, following up with the question, What makes you hate it? encouraging the

pupil to label their feelings so that with time the pupil does not respond so aggressively, but

learns to label their feelings precisely: ie says something approximating, I feel angry when I

see this or that word or have to do this or that task.

Making a pupil aware of their feelings is not an easy task: it will require patience, persistence

and tact. Merely asking a pupil to say what they are feeling may not suffice. Part and parcel of

it is enabling a pupil to manage his or her own emotions. This can be done in a number of

ways:

They can write diaries that describe what they are feeling about the tasks they are doing and

the people they are encountering (see above).

They can draw pictures that articulate their emotions in a pictorial sense.

They can even make masks and other modelsa strategy that we will examine a little later.

Integral to the management of emotions is the way in which a pupil responds to those people

around him, his social awareness. Many teachers have found that by far the best way forpupils to improve their understanding of other peoples feelings is to write a form of a diary

that lists their feelings towards people that they encounter and enumerates what the pupil

thinks other people are feeling. The aim is not for pupils to write correctly its not an

English exerciseor to write in detail; such a diary can be set out in a simple chart like the

one above. I have written out one pupils chart below, which he completed with his SEN

teacher.

Analytical pupil diaryName of person/task My feelings Their feelings

Mr Smith Makes me feel angry when he asks me to get on with my work Feels

worried that I am not getting on with my work

John He frightens me when he shouts He's frightened I don't liek himTalking to Carly about story ideas Felt happy. Had good ideas


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showing your pupils that the long-term view is the one that is best. The Elton Report found

that poor behaviour in 80% of lessons was due to poor planning on behalf of the teacher.

8. Walk away from confrontations. The emotionally intelligent teacher always buys him- or

herself time to think about how best to deal with a situation.

9. Question poor behaviour, but dont make blanket judgements about pupils. Make

pupils think about their behaviour, not be defensive about it. Ask them how they are feelingabout the lesson and why they are feeling that way.

10. Institute an emotional literacy programme during your tutor times. Encourage the

whole school to participate.

How teachers and teaching assistants working together can support their pupils:

First, check out yourself. You and your teaching assistants need to make sure that you are

behaving in an emotionally intelligent fashion. You should write down your own diary of the

situations you feel most happy with when working with pupils, and the situations that you

find most difficult. For example, many upfront teachers find the beginnings of lessons the

most stressful when they are trying to introduce a topic to the class, while teaching assistants

can feel uncomfortable when a teacher is talking at the class for a long time because theydont quite know what they should be doing. Anatomise the different situations you both have

encountered and see if you can solve any problems from the outset.

Second, carry out an audit. Both teachers and teaching assistants should reflect upon the

class as individuals and see if there are any pupils who specifically need assistance with

developing their emotional intelligence. Remember to analyse these pupils using the criteria

already talked about: self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and relationship

management. There are standardised tests that pupils can take to assess for these, but in truth

carrying out some close observation for a couple of lessons regarding these areas should

enable you to ascertain your chosen pupils abilities in these regards.

Third, prepare your lessons and make your materials. Your EI lessons could be one-offs

or they could be part of a systematic programme of study. You may well consider buying into

an existing programme to save you time (see below for more on this). However, there is no

doubt that specially tailored lessons will be the most effective: you know your pupils far

better than anyone else. It will be important not to isolate individuals you feel may need help

but think of ways of subtly improving their behaviour. Try to involve as many people as you

can. Exercises such as the emotional intelligence diary, the buddy system or making masks

can be enjoyed by the whole class and have beneficial effects beyond developing a pupils

emotional intelligence, so you may feel it is appropriate for the whole class or a large group to

do these.

Fourth, implement! One teacher should be assigned to observing the programme in action

while the other could be given the main teaching role.

Finally, reflect upon the effectiveness of the exercises you have given by carrying outpupil surveys and canvassing pupils and teachers views on the tasks. Ask them to

suggest any improvements.

Case study: A successful emotional intelligence programme

Sheena in Year 7 was having a rough time. Her parents were divorced, but still at war with

each other; her work was deteriorating and she was bullying other children. However, like allYear 7 pupils at her school, Sheena took part every week in 20-minute tutor sessions aimed at


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improving the pupils emotional intelligence. She was assigned a buddy, which she was

initially very resentful about. The buddy system is central to the emotional literacy sessions.

Pupils take a name randomly out of the tutor bowl and have to work with that pupil for half

the term. The idea is that pupils learn to work with someone outside their friendship group.

Sheena wouldnt talk to her buddy to begin with, but during one lesson, she was invited to

make a mask of the symbolic face that she presents to the outside world.

She made this amazing mask, which was coloured black and red and encased in barbed wire,

says Sheenas year group learning manager. Some of the other pupils didnt understand the

concept of the mask and so Sheena went around the class explaining it to them. She told them

about how the barbed wire was how she looked to the outside world: that she was prickly to

ward them off.

Towards the end of Year 7, this same manager happened to take a message to Sheenas class.

She found the pupils, without their tutor, sitting in a circle, listening to each other in silence,

as they arranged an old persons tea party entirely of their own free will. The programme has

meant that pupils know everyone in the tutor group, and are much less inclined to argue witheach other, says the year group learning manager. There is much more of a spirit of

cooperation.

The resources required, and the time needed

The great thing about using EI techniques to inform your teaching is that it can require very

few resources. It may mean that you use no extra resources at all, but you use your knowledge

of its underlying philosophy to inform your planning and your approach in the classroom.

However, if you want to institute a formalised programme that encourages your pupils to be

more emotionally intelligent, you will need to consider training the relevant staff and possibly

making your own materials, or buying in materials.

Helping pupils develop their emotional intelligence is not a short-term teaching programme

that can be taught in the space of a few weeks. To work properly it will require a whole-

school effort and may take a few years to fully implement. The first step is for staff to be

made aware of its philosophy and to consider, for themselves, which is the best way forward.

How involving parents and carers can help

The government is particularly keen for parents and carers to be involved in developing theirown and their childrens emotional intelligence. Perhaps more than anyone, it is a parents

ability to nurture his or her own childs EI that will be the most important factor. It may be

that you wish to offer a class or classes that highlight the principles of EI to the parents and

carers at your school. Again, as we have seen with children, it will be important not to isolate

the parents you think are in most need of help, but to hold general classes for all parents.

Many parents are very grateful for any help they can get on improving their own childrens

behaviour, so it may well be that holding classes on this subject will be most effective. Some

primary schools now hold induction classes for their parents: discussing EI issues at this point

would be particularly pertinent.

For further information


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For more information on a good systematic EI scheme of work, see VisionWorks:

Empowering Students Through Emotional Intelligence

Goleman, D (1995) Emotional Intelligence. Daniel Goleman talks about the uses of emotional

intelligence in schools

Learn about emotional intelligence programmes in UK schools

DfES (2001) white paper on secondary school: Schools Achieving Success, Annesley: TSO.Gardner, H (1993), Multiple Intelligences: The Theory in Practice, Basic Books, New York.

The Elton Report (1989)

Francis Gilbert is the author of Im A Teacher, Get Me Out Of Here and Yob Nation. He is

head of English in a comprehensive in outer London

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What Role Does Emotional Intelligence Play in Children