Investigating the coping strategies utilised by secondary school managers to manage significant negative emotions through emotional intelligence – A Case Study of Secondary School Managers in Lejweleputswa District

This empirical paper examined the significant negative emotions experienced by secondary school managers and the application of emotional intelligence in this context. This paper explored the emotional experiences of secondary school managers as they navigate complex feelings and emotions. The school environment is a highly emotional and stressful setting. Managers must manage their emotions when addressing challenging teachers and coordinating various activities within a limited timeframe. The paper is grounded in critical emancipatory research theory, which advocates for social justice, equality, freedom, and labour peace. This paper is qualitative. Ten participants from two schools in the Lejweleputswa Education District in the Free State, South Africa, including five school managers, four teachers, and one senior subject specialist, were interviewed face-to-face. The face-to-face interview method was employed to explore the significant feelings experienced by secondary school managers when dealing with daily stress and to understand how they manage these emotions. The study found that school managers lack knowledge of emotional regulation, which frustrates them in their daily work, and they are not emotionally intelligent. The sample size consisted of only two schools within the educational district, and the generalisability of the results was limited. The study’s results and findings might have considerably varied with an increased sample size. The study suggests that managers and leaders must be trained to regulate negative emotions and that training programmes must be implemented to improve the social skill of self-regulation. This paper adds to existing literature on enhancing emotional intelligence among school managers in South African secondary schools.