RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN TEACHERS’ EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND THEIR TEACHING EFFECTIVENESS

Abstract

Emotional intelligence is an important psychological construct whose thorough understanding is very necessary to enhance teachers’ effectiveness. This important aspect failed to get attention of researchers in Pakistan. Present teacher preparation and recruitment policy primarily focused on content expertise. There is no formal mechanism of assessing and considering development of emotional intelligence during teacher education or at the time of recruitment. Affective or emotional face of teaching is still being overlooked. This study was conducted to explore the teachers’ emotional intelligence level. Since EI is affected by some other personal variables, the study also identified the differences in teachers’ EI scores with regard to some categorical/ background variables. The ultimate goal was to investigate the relationship between university teachers’ emotional intelligence and their teaching effectiveness in the Punjab. Selection of the sample of study took place in two stages. At first stage, 879 teachers were conveniently selected as sample from seven public and six private universities. On the basis of their raw mean EI score, 170 teachers were selected at second stage. Students of these 170 teachers (n= 3551) provided data related to their teachers’ teaching effectiveness. The instruments used for data collection were Bar-On EQ-i: Short and teaching effectiveness scale. Bar-On (2002) EQ-i: short was used to measure the university teachers’ emotional intelligence level at first stage of the study. It is a standardized measure of EI. It is a 51 items self report measure. Its’ reliability on present sample was ensured for different age and gender groups. It comprises five sub scales i.e. (a) intrapersonal, (b) interpersonal, (c) stress management, (d) adaptability and (e) general vii mood. Teaching effectiveness scale (TES) was used to evaluate teachers’ teaching effectiveness. It was developed by researcher herself. Its content validity was ensured through expert judgment. Its construct validity was ensured through confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) using LISREL 8.8. The reliability coefficient of the final test was 0.87. Final version of TES consisted of four sub factors i.e. (a) student teacher relationship (STR), (b) facilitative classroom environment (FCE), (c) content and pedagogical skills, and (d) classroom management (CM). It was administered on students of 170 teachers on second stage. Data were analyzed with the help of SPSS-15 software package. Mean score of respondents on BarOn EQ-i: Short and TES was calculated. Data were analyzed through application of independent sample t test, ANOVA and Pearson correlation according to the research questions. Results of the study revealed that the university teachers in the Punjab have got a low and underdeveloped emotional and social capacity, with room for improvement. Female teachers scored significantly higher than male teachers only on interpersonal skills. The teachers from private sector universities scored significantly higher than the teachers from public sector universities on two of the five sub scales i.e. (a) interpersonal skills and (b) adaptability skills in addition to overall EI. The married teachers scored significantly higher than the single teachers on two of the five scales i.e. (a) adaptability skills and (b) general mood in addition to overall EI. All four age groups were neither significantly different from one another on any of the sub scales nor on overall EI. Qualification did not affect teachers’ EI score. The teaching experience originates a difference in teachers’ stress management skills and their overall EI. The teachers’ rank viii causes difference in teachers’ interpersonal skills. The teaching discipline is a main source of variability in teachers’ intrapersonal, interpersonal and adaptability skills, their general mood and their overall EI. Finally, with regard to major objective, teachers’ emotional intelligence is moderately positively correlated with their teaching effectiveness. All the aspects of teachers’ emotional intelligence such as intrapersonal, interpersonal, stress management, adaptability, general mood and overall EI are positively correlated with all the sub factors of their teaching effectiveness such as student teachers relationship, classroom management, classroom environment, content and pedagogical skill and overall teaching effectiveness. This study has provided an empirical evidence for contribution of EI skills in teaching effectiveness. Still, it is only IQ which is considered important in prospective teachers’ admission policy and teachers’ hiring, firing and training mechanism. The findings of this study may attract the attention of concerned authorities towards emotional intelligence as a prerequisite of effective teaching. It will help shift their overemphasis on IQ to EQ. The study has provided an evidence for incorporation of EI skills in pre-service and in-service teacher training programs. It may also support the notion of acknowledging teachers’ EI skills in prospective teachers’ admission and universities HRM policies. This study may also affect teacher evaluation system which assesses only content related issues and entirely ignores the emotional component of teaching. It may also bring an impetus for future experimental studies regarding the effects of EI intervention on teaching effectiveness.