Can Academic Achievement in Primary School Students Be Improved Through Teacher Training on Emotional Intelligence as a Key Academic Competency?

Abstract

Background: The primary aim of the current study was to develop a multimethodological teacher training program based on emotional intelligence (EI) as a key competency in order to improve student academic achievement based on two methods: face-to-face instruction and game-based e-learning instruction. Methods: Seventy-four primary education teachers and their 2069 students were randomly assigned to three groups. The first group of teachers (n = 23) were trained to use a face-to-face method. The objective of the training was that the teachers would be able to implement EI into their teaching to improve academic achievement in their students (n = 645) using face-to-face instruction. For the second group (n = 28), the teachers were trained to use an e-learning gamification method. Similar to the first group, the objective of the training was that the teachers would be able to implement EI into their teaching to improve academic achievement in their students (n = 758) using e-learning gamification instruction. The third group of teachers (n = 23) served as the controls and did not receive any special training, nor did they implement EI into their teaching (n = 666). Results: Implementation of EI into classroom teaching effectively improved academic achievement in primary school students using both methods. However, there was a greater increase in academic achievement and higher teacher satisfaction in the game-based e-learning group. No significant differences in student achievement were observed in the control group. Conclusion: Emotional intelligence as a key academic competency.

Perceived emotional intelligence of teachers and their pupils’ academic performance

“…Lurea et al (2011) has concluded that a good teaching method and style is reflected in the embodiment of training values and enhance their understanding and motivates students to think critically and believe in themselves. Rico and Sandoval (2020) supports this claim based on their findings which shows that implementation of emotional intelligence into classroom teaching effectively improve the academic achievement of primary school learners; however, they found a greater increase in academic achievement and higher teacher satisfaction in the game-based e-learning group. They concluded that emotional intelligence is the key towards academic competency.…”

“…The researcher believed that emotional intelligence is highly important for quality education. While the hypothesized finding of Rico and Sandoval (2020) on the emotional intelligence of teachers and the academic achievement of the learners claimed that there is no significant difference observed in the learner's achievement from the control group.…”

Educación de la inteligencia emocional en edad escolar: Un estudio exploratorio desde la perspectiva docente

“…En cuanto a cómo se está trabajando formalmente la IE, es preciso destacar algunas respuestas: en asambleas o por medio del teatro, ya que son coincidentes con alguna de la bibliografía utilizada en este trabajo (Gómez Vicario et al, 2017;Morán Iranzo et al, 2016). Sin embargo, las personas encuestadas no hacen alusión expresa a la gamificación o al aprendizaje cooperativo, las cuales son opciones sobre las que existen diferentes referencias contextualizadas en primaria (Pozo-Rico y Sandoval, 2020;Rivera-Pérez et al, 2021). No obstante, si se tienen en cuenta los resultados vinculados al código libre materiales, se aprecia cómo el juego sí es un recurso utilizado por diferentes docentes; al igual que los cuentos, los cuales también son un óptimo recurso para trabajar las emociones desde las primeras edades (Cerezo Ros, 2021).…”

Teaching Socio-Emotional Competencies Among Primary School Students: Improving Conflict Resolution and Promoting Democratic Co-existence in Schools

“…In recent decades, there has been a rise in the evidences found on the importance of scholar school violence prevention (Gazquez et al, 2007;Loan et al, 2018;Modin et al, 2018; Nation et al, 2020;Xu et al, 2020), the relevance of training Youngsters' Social Skills (Donohue, 2005;Matson et al, 2007;Wang et al, 2011;Youngstrom et al, 2017) and the convenience of instruction for EI competency among the students of primary school (Petrides et al, 2006(Petrides et al, , 2016Nelis et al, 2009Nelis et al, , 2011Durlak et al, 2011). However, while the evidence for the importance of these variables has been highly studied, more front-line applied researches are needed to improve these factors' (prevention of school violence and promotion of socio-emotional skills) importance in the school context in the early academic years (Pozo-Rico and Sandoval, 2020). In the light of the results obtained, the program proposed in this research has been useful for the prevention of violent behaviors in the educational field, promoting the development of social and emotional skills among the students enrolled in the 3rd year of primary education.…”