10 minute read
Cultivating Emotional Intelligence with Janelle Hoosen and Caroline Black
NEW ZEALAND
Cultivating Emotional Intelligence
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By Clare Erasmus
Students are at the core of educational institutions. They spend much of their time learning and growing, while being educated, from the early years through to the young adult years at universities and colleges. It is no surprise that the face of education over the past few decades has transformed and so has the role of educators. Educators now find themselves extending their professional development into growing their knowledge and skills in a variety of directions. Central to being able to adapt to these changes, while simultaneously being a part of the transformation for both students and educators, is emotional Intelligence. Some educational institutions are at the front line of implementing well-thought-out initiatives, programmes and approaches that promote, educate and facilitate Emotional Intelligence.
Historically, Intelligence Quotient (IQ) was attributed to being the single factor in determining life success, however this is long a measure of the past. In fact,
IQ is now considered a far more narrow measure because it does not account for the range of other human intelligences. On the other hand, greater significance is being placed on Emotional Intelligence (EI).
Janelle Hoosen
What is Emotional Intelligence?
Emotional Intelligence can be best understood as a person’s ability to perceive, control, evaluate and express emotions.
The term ‘Emotional Intelligence’ was coined by Peter Salovey and John Mayer in 1990. It was later popularised by Daniel Goleman (1996) in his book, ‘Emotional 56 | eYs Magazine, Winter 2022 Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More than IQ’
“Emotional Intelligence includes the ability to engage in sophisticated information processing about one’s own and others’ emotions and the ability to use this information as a guide to thinking and behaviour. That is, individuals high in Emotional Intelligence pay attention to, use, understand, and manage emotions, and these skills serve adaptive functions that potentially benefit themselves and others”.
(In “Emotional Intelligence: New Ability or Eclectic Traits?” John D. Mayer, Peter Salovey and David R. Caruso. American Psychologist, September 2008, Vol. 63, No. 6, pages 503 - 517.)
As noted, schools and educators are beginning to acknowledge the importance of Emotional Intelligence and there is a drive to integrate the teaching of Emotional Intelligence in day-today teaching. Iqbal et al (2022) highlights the recommendation that universities take specific measures to strengthen students’ Emotional Intelligence. Researcher, Littlejohn (2012), suggested Emotional Intelligence is the ‘missing link’ in driving success. Others have argued that it provides students with a critical edge (MacCann, 2020). Emotional Intelligence has gained momentum not only in educational institutions but in the greater workforce, too, for it is considered to be the gateway to enhancing life in diverse ways. A review of the literature suggests that this gateway may lead to:-
• Better learning
• Improved friendships
• Academic success
• Positive interactions
• Solving challenges
• Key to high performance at all levels
• Improved study habits
How are some educational institutions approaching this?
Jenelle Hoosen, the school counsellor of Medbury School in Christchurch, a leading Australasian private preparatory school for the education of boys from Years 1 to 8, was thrilled to be a part of the initiatives being implemented.
“I am very excited that Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a key part of learning at Medbury School. Developing one’s emotional intelligence is so important for young people; it helps students to understand and manage their feelings, develops a positive sense of self and helps them to interact successfully with others. Medbury School utilises Swinburne’s Aristotle-EI programme, which approaches emotional intelligence through four branches: Emotional Awareness and Expression, Understanding the Emotions of Others, Emotional Reasoning, and Emotional Management and Control. What I really appreciate about the Aristotle programme is that it delivers ready to use lessons for busy teachers but also encourages teachers to adapt these lessons so that they are appropriate for the values and context of Medbury School. The programme content utilises books, online videos and resources and comes with posters that reinforce the key messages and language around EI. The hope is that as Medbury School continues to deliver this programme across all levels, a common language relating to EI will develop. Professional Development time has been provided through sessions with Swinburne University, both in delivering the content but also interpreting the annual data which is gathered from students in our senior school” Jenelle Hoosen.
In her role as a counsellor, Jenelle notices now how the students are able to articulate and manifest their emotional understanding and tools to support themselves and others.
“From a counselling position, I have been delighted to notice the increasing number of students who refer to what they are doing in class to support their emotional wellbeing, such as mindfulness, breathing tasks, developing empathy for others, talking about respecting differences in friendships, problem solving and viewing failure as part of learning. Through delivering the EI Aristotle programme, alongside many other initiatives at Medbury School, students are not only being supported through their primary school years but also into their secondary school years and beyond. Students of all ages are starting to understand that EI is something that is important to their overall functioning and success at school but also in life in general” Jenelle Hoosen (School Counsellor at Medbury School, Christchurch).
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Caroline Black, the Director of Wellbeing Education at Christ’s College, one of New Zealand’s leading independent high schools for boys Year 9 to 13, is passionate about wellbeing and she shared some valuable insight into how Christ’s College was preparing for and developing students’ Emotional Intelligence.
“Emotional Intelligence is fundamental to experiencing all the “good” stuff in life. For me, Emotional Intelligence (EI) is our ability to recognise, understand and regulate our emotions as well as appreciate the emotions of others. It means being aware that our emotions can be drivers of our behaviour and have the ability to impact on people both positively and negatively. The capacity to express emotions is integral in developing relationships alongside our ability to regulate, interpret and respond to the emotions of others,” Caroline Black, Director of Wellbeing Education at Christ’s College).
Caroline Black
Caroline expressed the importance of the normalisation of emotions and the significance of being able to recognise them and respond.
“Being able to develop EI in teens is pivotal and is a fundamental part of our MINDfit and MANifesto curriculums at school. Giving our students the language to explore and express their emotions has been key to normalising the fact that we all experience a vast array of emotions in our lives. It also helps reinforce that all emotions are okay, however, not all behaviours are okay and that is the crux of where the learning begins. That pivotal moment when we recognise we are feeling something and being able to acknowledge it, pause and think: how will I respond? Dan Siegel has a great strategy for this and it is easily accessible for young people and adults! Siegel coined the phrase, ‘name it to tame it’” Caroline Black.
Understanding young people so well, Caroline also highlighted,
“It’s also important to highlight brain development with young people so they are aware that their thinking brain (frontal lobe) is still developing and will do so until their late twenties. This is by no means a ‘hall pass’ for unregulated emotional responses but what it does is allows our young people a greater insight into how their brains function. By developing their skills in emotional recognition and regulation they can be more attuned to how they are feeling and have a greater awareness of their impact on others.”
There is no denying that developing these ‘emotional navigating’ skills the in formative years can lead to better habits later in life. How children identify, understand and manage emotions can have a vast impact on a child’s life from their relationships with family and friends, how they perform in educational settings and workplaces.
Emotional intelligence help students:-
• Better manage themselves
• Relate positively to others
• To solve social challenges
• Create an understanding of others - empathy
• To guide better decision making
• Develop prosocial behaviour
• Enable efficient and effective communication.
• Encourage ‘thinking before acting’
• Improve self-motivation
• To self-regulate
• Improved academic performance
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Caroline Black from Christ’s College acknowledged this.
“There is also growing evidence to show the correlation between Emotional Intelligence and academic growth and performance as well as the significant impact on students’ interpersonal, stress management and adaptability skills. By building our students’ interpersonal and emotional regulation skills we hope that this enables them to better handle the challenging aspects of secondary school life. As educators we know that school life comes with pressures and challenges - for example, giving and receiving feedback, meeting deadlines, dealing with friendships and relationships, navigating change (Covid has been change-central for our students), not making a team or working through setbacks and failures. Teens with a higher degree of Emotional Intelligence are better able to control their emotions and behaviour when things don’t turn out the way they expected. This in turn can make them happier, more selfconfident, and more respectful of others. It can also be really empowering for young people as they have a greater sense of agency and self-efficacy.”
With our ever changing world, it is vital Emotional Intelligence is cultivated. As Caroline Black notes,
“Emotional Intelligence is the fundamental skills that enable us to look after ourselves, relate well to others and not let internal experiences prevent us from being the best versions of ourselves so we can move towards living our values and that is something every young person deserves to learn at school. Ultimately, if we can support our young people to lean into their emotions, understand their emotions and regulate their emotions, to see their emotions rather than be them, they will be in a better place to cope and thrive in this ever changing world.”
It is an exciting time in education, with schools beginning to acknowledge, embrace and implement strategies and learning opportunities for children to gain and develop their Emotional Intelligence. Schools and universities, along with parents, are partnering to offer their children great futures.
References
John D. Mayer, Peter Salovey and David R. Caruso. American Psychologist, September 2008, Vol. 63, No. 6, pages 503 - 517
Iqbal, J.; Asghar, M.Z.; Ashraf, M.A.; Yi, X. The Impacts of Emotional Intelligence on Students’ Study Habits in Blended Learning Environments: The Mediating Role of Cognitive Engagement during COVID-19. Behav. Sci. 2022, 12, 14
Lieberman MD, Eisenberger NI, Crockett MJ, Tom SM, Pfeifer JH, Way BM. Putting feelings into words: affect labeling disrupts amygdala activity in response to affective stimuli. Psychol Sci. 2007 May;18(5):421-8
Littlejohn P. The missing link: using emotional intelligence to reduce workplace stress and workplace violence in our nursing and other health care professions. J Prof Nurs. 2012 Nov-Dec;28(6):360-8. doi: 10.1016/j.profnurs.2012.04.006. PMID: 23158199.
MacCann, C., Jiang, Y., Brown, L. E., Double, K. S., Bucich, M., & Minbashian, A. (2020). Emotional intelligence predicts academic performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 146(2), 150.
Clare Erasmus
About the Author: Clare is an author and educator, living locally in Christchurch. She has written books for both educators and children. She has a Bachelor of Arts (Sociology and Legal Studies), Bachelor of Arts Honours (Sociology), Masters of Social Science, Bachelor of Education, Certificates in both TEFL and TESOL and is currently undertaking her PhD in Education
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