Developing emotional intelligence competence among teachers

A growing body of research has linked emotional intelligence (EI) to different life aspects, including personal well-being, quality of social relationships and professional effectiveness. In the field of education, EI has been linked to different aspects of school life, such as learning, academic achievements and pro-social behaviours among students and more recently, to effective teaching. The paper reports the qualitative findings of a comprehensive research project which followed a two-year emotional intelligence development programme, as part of teacher-targeted professional development training in one school in Israel. Data is based on 26 in-depth interviews with school teachers. The focus of the study was to explore what impacts an EI training programme might have upon the participants. The findings indicate that EI can be developed in teachers and that the EI training programmes may be effective in bringing about positive EI shifts and related behaviours which may positively impact upon teachers' practice, their sense of meaningfulness and their relations with students.