Emotional Intelligence is an intellectual skill with which a person can understand his own emotions and manage them accordingly and at the same time evaluate the emotions of others in the society and perform all the tasks of life on the basis of mutual relationships. Extensive practice of Emotional Intelligence is very important in the teaching profession. These skills of teachers help them in professional development and ensure the quality of education.
The Teaching profession is one of the most valuable professions of the human race. The responsible behavior of teachers towards this profession, teaches the students to climb the high peak of success. However, the educational frame must be covered with positive emotions at all levels of teaching, where a fully developed practice of Emotional Intelligence of teachers must exist. According to ‘Miles 2011’, “Close caring relationships in educational environments have a positive impact on students’ lives.” Research has shown that students who have positive and high-quality relationships with their teachers are the ones who achieve in higher education. Miles also confirmed that positive relationships between teachers and students lead to improved emotional and cognitive skills, which make them emotionally intelligent.
Various studies have shown that students who felt shallow and unfamiliar relationships with teachers were more engaged in personal tasks at school. On the other hand, according to a study by Deliette et al in 2016, which surveyed more than 1,000 students in grades VII to IX, it was found that positive teacher-student relationships resulted in students being more engaged in school welfare activities and in this case Emotional Intelligence of teachers played an important role.
Emotional Intelligence is not only connected to the teacher-student relationship. Of course, this positively affects the relationship inside the classroom. Mutual interaction enhances the quality of relationship between teachers and students and also affects students’ Emotional Intelligence. According to Lucas, Malina, Williamson, Pulido, and Pérez Albéniz 2015, a study of 1864 children found that schools with better teacher-student relationships also had better quality of education. And because of this positive teacher-student relationship, teachers have been observed to increase behavioral actions overtime and conversely, negative student-teacher relationships have resulted in lower academic achievement.”
Therefore, Emotional Intelligence skills are very important for teachers, which they can acquire with some practice and application. It is very relevant to adopt some ways to improve these skills of teachers:
- Identifying Emotions: Teachers should encourage their students to identify emotions and make them positive. For this reason, they can use emotion charts or activities to help them recognize feelings and give them intellectual names.
- Self-control: The teacher will practice controlling his emotions and respond thoughtfully. The teacher will try to gain control over any challenging situation.
- Developing Empathy: Students need to develop the ability to understand feelings and perspectives and relate to them. Empathy is fostered through discussion and creative role playing, where students are encouraged to understand and relate to the feelings and perspectives of others.
- Development of social skills: Teachers should not limit their activities only in educational institutions. They have to maintain equal relations with every person in the society. Improve interpersonal relationships with students, peers and parents by creating effective communication with them.
- Conflict Resolution: Care should be taken to avoid any kind of conflict between the students in the classroom. Conflict resolution skills are a great quality for teachers. Teachers will be one of the models for this skill of the students. They must learn to deal with any conflict that arises efficiently, calmly and constructively.
- Self-Awareness Activities: Engage students in journaling or reflective practice to develop self-awareness and understanding of their emotions. Just as teachers keep themselves self-aware, they help students to be self-aware.
- Social-emotional learning programs: Teachers can incorporate social-emotional learning programs into their curriculum. They need to focus on emotional regulation, interpersonal skills and decision making.
- Creating Positive Environments: Students should be encouraged to work in situations where they can practice recognizing and managing emotions in different social situations. If teachers practice a positive attitude, they can create a positive and good atmosphere in the educational institution.
- Peer Support: Teachers will encourage peer support and collaborative learning for their students, where students can help each other develop Emotional Intelligence skills.
- Teaching to Give Feedback: Giving constructive feedback is very important in developing students’ Emotional Intelligence. It helps students to set goals for material development.
- Effective classroom management: If teachers can be more aware of their overall classroom management, their Emotional Intelligence skills can be improved. Teachers with high Emotional Intelligence are better equipped to create a positive classroom environment. They can predict disruptive behavior and deal with any problems. With the skills of Emotional Intelligence they create a productive learning environment.
- Stronger teacher-student relationships: Emotional Intelligence enables teachers to empathize with their students’ feelings and needs. This empathy helps build interpersonal trust and relationships, leading to more intimate communication and a deeper understanding of individual learning struggles and strengths.
So, teachers have to combine their emotions and intelligence to handle a difficult moment. However, to achieve this intelligence, the teacher has to strive for a long time; It is not achieved overnight. They have to master this skill through daily practice. Teachers with high Emotional Intelligence (EI) skills are more likely to be hired, promoted and better paid to advance in the school workforce. Since Emotional Intelligence is not acquired by birth, it has to be developed through regular practice and teaching of students. The more skilled a teacher is in Emotional Intelligence, the more professional and acceptable the teacher is in the workplace. For a teacher to develop Emotional Intelligence, he needs to inculcate human, social and moral qualities in students. Empathizing with others, being self-aware, controlling one’s own emotions, understanding others’ emotions and having good relationships with students are among the ways to increase the Emotional Intelligence skills of teachers.
Prof Dr Md Mahmudul Hassan is the Principal and President, Bangladesh International Schools Association (BISA)
