Introduction
Personal education, both self-administered and externally organized, is a subject that requires a large amount of mental, intellectual, emotional, and often physical resources. When self-development is concerned, the result depends on the combination of the professionally performed skills that determine the success or failure of absorbing the lesson. Numerous studies in the education and psychology fields touch upon the question of what skills need to be developed for education to be successful and fruitful for different students. Many of them are used in this paper, which aims to discuss the role emotional intelligence plays in the educational process. The process, in this case, involves multiple aspects, such as the importance of the learning environment, personal motivation, feedback, and educational process structure.
Emotional Intelligence: The Concept
Emotional intelligence refers to the ability to understand and contextualize the emotions and emotion-induced behaviors of other people. It is linked to the level of adaptivity to social situations and the general degree of awareness a person exhibits to subjects around them. In modern society, it is considered essential for leadership positions and beyond, with teachers encouraged to develop their emotional intelligence to increase their professional performance. Whether emotional intelligence may be deliberately increased is subject to debate amongst psychologists and mental health professionals. However, there are currently two major ways of testing one’s existing level of emotional intelligence: The mayer-Salovey-Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test and the Emotional and Social Competency Inventory.
MSCEIT is an ability-based study that uses Mayer and Salovey’s EI model’s four branches. Participants undertake challenges that measure their capacity to perceive, reason, comprehend, and manage emotions. The ESCI is based on an earlier-designed instrument called the Self-Assessment Questionnaire. It entails having individuals who know the person rate their ability in a variety of emotional competencies.
The exam is intended to assess the social and emotional skills that help people stand out as effective leaders. However, it is evident from the outlined description, that the ESCI measure relies on self-assessment exclusively. Therefore, its objectivity is inherently compromised and may be considered insufficient for the scientific research context. Modern educational psychologists are hence more likely to incorporate the MSCEIT model into their projects.
The first step of the MSCEIT of perceiving emotions entails observing an emotional reaction in another person and interpreting it correctly. Understanding nonverbal cues such as body language and facial expressions may be required in many circumstances. Using emotions to encourage thinking and cognitive activity is the next stage. Emotions aid in the prioritization of what we pay attention to and react to; we emotionally react to things that catch our attention. People’s emotions have a range of meanings, and how they are interpreted is largely determined by external circumstances. An emotionally intelligent observer must evaluate the reason for someone’s anger and what it may indicate if they are exhibiting furious sentiments (Partido & Stafford, 2018).
If a manager at a firm acts enraged, it might indicate that they are unhappy with a subordinate’s job, that they received a speeding ticket on their way to work that morning, or that they have been arguing with their partner. Finally, one of the most important aspects of emotional intelligence is the capacity to properly control emotions (Mattingly & Kraiger, 2019). Emotional management includes regulating emotions and behaving correctly, as well as responding to the emotions of others.
In recent years, there has been a surge in interest in teaching and studying social and emotional intelligence. Many schools now offer social and emotional learning (SEL) programs as part of their curriculum. These projects aim to promote kids’ health and well-being while simultaneously assisting them in academic success and preventing bullying. Emotional intelligence may be used in a variety of situations in everyday life, such as measuring and shaping one’s response to criticism and stress, having proactive empathy, and apologizing effortlessly.
The Most Important Skills for Students
The set of skills critical for the academic and personal success of students nationwide continues to evolve in the current era of rapid digitalization. Further intensified by the educational adjustments to the COVID-19 pandemic, the merging relationship between learning and technology demands that modern learners keep up with the innovations. However, all of the currently topical student skills, namely critical thinking, adaptability, communication skills, cultural understanding, and personal drive, can be improved by emotional intelligence.
At a time when the notion of a profession and the workplace is changing, being able to think for oneself is a crucial ability. You’ll need to be able to think for yourself in a practical and meaningful way since critical thinking is obviously self-directed and self-disciplined. For key tests, this generation will need to do more than just take notes and recall knowledge. They will require schooling that teaches students to think critically and solve issues in real-time (Dwiyanti & Widianingsih, 2018). Early development of this skill will only aid the students of today and tomorrow. When combined with emotional intelligence, critical thinking becomes capable of questioning the unfair patterns within the education system that still frequently relies on a set of classist and racist prejudices.
The majority of students and professionals must navigate emerging technologies on a daily basis, which leads to their adaptability being put on the front line of areas to develop. While this may make life simpler, in the long run, it frequently comes with new challenges. The use of modern technology by several companies to expand their global presence is an excellent example of this. As a result, top-tier businesses encourage their staff to work remotely in order to fully use the Digital Age.
If students apply their emotional intelligence to this skill they get a broader, more contextualized understanding of how modern technology might aid in developing and maintaining mutually beneficial relationships (McCan et al., 2020). Alternatively, as emotional intelligence enhances one’s capacity for empathy and thinking, it is beneficial in navigating the darker sides of the Internet and modern technology at large.
Both with in-person and online interactions, good communication skills are essential, often accounting for the way a conveyed message is perceived by the receiver. The future generation will be expected to thrive in these areas, and it will be necessary for them to take the lead on occasion. As previously mentioned, there may be unique circumstances to consider, such as a key member of the work team collaborating with them on a project remotely. This is only one of the numerous instances in which future professionals would need to be versatile in their approach to communication (Chen & Duo, 2018).
Even prior to the professional context, communication skills in education allow students to deliver their worries and questions to the professor in a timely and relevant manner. Hence, communication is essential for proactive beneficial feedback, discussed later in this paper. When enriched by emotional intelligence, communication begins to account for the feelings of the other party, granting a communicator access to a new layer of valuable information. Additionally, emotionally intelligent communication is less likely to upset a participant even when the topic itself is charged.
More favorable encounters, improved cooperation, and really varied dialogues may all result from a stronger cultural knowledge. Given that Generation Z is often regarded as one of the most diverse generations to date, the future workplace and educational space will have a greater diversity of views and viewpoints. In most civilizations, cultural understanding has been a critical component of progress. Large firms in top sectors are embracing and training their staff in international business, which is a vital element of modern living. Cultural awareness is inherently linked to respect and awareness of multiple aspects of someone else’s life, in spite of the lack of a natural understanding of these aspects (Hasanuddin & Sjahruddin, 2017). It requires sensitivity, and willingness to learn and adapt one’s views, and thus can be easily tied into the importance of emotional intelligence.
While competition is an inevitable aspect of life, the globe is now more linked than ever, and many people will be competing on a far larger global stage than earlier generations. A teacher must consider the fact that this will need pupils to compete against students from their own nation as well as from a variety of other countries. Having the initiative and motivation to succeed will be crucial in navigating various parts of life, particularly when it comes to job and educational prospects. This value is already being widely incorporated into the teaching process with the growing number of internal academic competitions. An emotionally intelligent perspective on the matter would ensure the participants are not being traumatized by their rivaling aspirations while still at a formational stage of mental development.
The Learning Process and Environment
In modern educational practice, the process itself and the learning environment are most often perceived and analyzed in tandem with each other. It’s critical to consider how and what students should study in and out of the classroom, whether alone or in groups, on a step-by-step basis. It is also essential to decide on how a teacher may conduct in-class and out-of-class activities that effectively utilize more active learning techniques. The most effective approach to education combines functionality, ambition, and empathy towards students, ensuring both high expectations and operating support systems for the pupils.
The process itself may be divided into five general steps: analyzing students’ educational needs, outlining topics, developing relevant learning objectives, planning and designing an activity, and evaluating the results. Throughout these steps, a teacher must ask themselves whether their practices and objectives coordinate well with the overall learning strategy of a particular institution. In certain cases, it is also advisable to measure it up against the existing research within the education sphere, particularly if a professor wishes to introduce new activities and practices that have not yet been tested properly. Furthermore, every stage may be accompanied by a feedback exchange between a teacher and their students, thus contributing to a trustworthy and healthy learning environment (Park, Stone & Holloway, 2017). Ideally, the pupils may avail themselves of the institutional counseling services, considering the immense pressure put on the students in their later high school years.
Effective Motivation in Education
Generally, motivation can be divided into two sometimes overlapping types: intrinsic and extrinsic, with the main difference being whether the source is internal or external. Intrinsic motivation is defined as motivation that stems from a personal interest or passion for the work at hand, rather than relying on external pressure. Since the early 1970s, social and educational psychologists have been researching intrinsic motivation (Mustafa et al., 2020).
According to research, student assessment theory is typically connected with good educational attainment and enjoyment. If students relate their educational achievements to variables within their control or think they can be successful agents in achieving desired goals, they are more likely to be intrinsically driven. Competition, however, is extrinsic since it motivates the performer to win and beat others rather than to enjoy the intrinsic benefits of the action. Extrinsic incentives include a crowd cheering on the individual and awards. Extrinsic incentives, according to social psychology studies, can lead to excessive rationalization and, as a result, a decrease in the intrinsic drive.
However, this framework alone presents a rather volatile and unsustainable view of motivation, since it focuses heavily on its emotional component in both types. Even though pupils may be extrinsically motivated by future career prospects and good grades, the key focus lies on the ways they feel about these potential rewards. This is why motivation in education must be understood on a fuller scale, with the element of self-control in mind. Motivational self-control is becoming more widely recognized as a subset of emotional intelligence (Wu et al., 2019). A person may be extremely brilliant according to a more conservative definition, as evaluated by many IQ tests, yet uninspired to use such intellect for specific tasks.
A need that initiates action directed at a goal or an incentive is referred to as a drive or desire. These are considered to originate within the individual and may not require external stimuli to be aroused. Basic drives may be ignited by impulses such as hunger, which encourages a person to seek food. Subtler needs, commented upon by the Maslow hierarchy pyramid, include self-development and external recognition. Despite having less of primal nature, they might manifest almost just as strongly, especially among teenagers and young adults. As a result, self-control is then introduced to shape these needs into more effective and adequate actions.
The Importance of Feedback
In the field of higher education, feedback is seen as a tough subject. Despite the fact that it is recognized as an important component of boosting students’ learning processes. The aforementioned assertion was backed up by national polls in both the UK and Australia. In higher education settings, there is a significant and increasing amount of study on feedback and its worth and efficacy in student learning. Feedback is widely regarded as an important tool for assisting students in their growth as autonomous learners who can monitor, assess, and manage their own learning.
Despite the overwhelming evidence supporting the value of feedback in promoting student learning, many student polls revealed that students are unsatisfied with the feedback they get on their coursework. Studies indicate that it is time for professors to reconsider their approach to delivering feedback, optimizing it in a way to better fits the assignment style and the course purposes. Pupils complain about a lack of sufficient, timely feedback, while professors allege that students don’t follow the advice they’ve been given. In light of the aforementioned issue, various recommendations have been made to improve the effectiveness and value of feedback in terms of student learning.
One of the most crucial characteristics of effective feedback is the clear definition of a goal or outstanding and satisfactory performance. The students must also have a sense of ownership over the specified criteria in order for pupils to comprehend the self-assessment process. In higher education, there should be an acceptable degree of overlap between student goals and instructor aims (Dziewanowska, 2017). This is rationally important since the aims of the pupils serve as the criterion for self-regulation. Nonetheless, extensive research data exists demonstrating major misalignments between instructors’ and students’ views of goals, evaluation criteria, and standards.
Another important requirement for valuable feedback is that it should be designed as a usable tool for improving the performance in a module and conducting an effective self-assessment. As previously said, providing students with the opportunity to exercise regulating features of their own learning and reflect on that practice is an excellent approach to strengthening their self-regulation process. Students are frequently involved in observing discrepancies between internally defined task goals and the outputs that they produce (Dziewanowska, 2017). Incorporating a self-assessment assisted by a professor’s expertise into a feedback session increases the student’s awareness of their current performance.
The third valuable trait of effective feedback involves creating space for peer communication to occur in relation to it. The value of feedback, as well as the chance that the information supplied is comprehended by students, can be improved by thinking of feedback as a conversation rather than just transmission. Criticism in the form of conversation implies that the student will not only receive textual feedback but will also have the option to discuss it afterward. In this case, in order for feedback to be more useful and helpful, it must first be comprehended by the student before it can be used to improve the situation.
Finally, proactive feedback involves introducing the opportunities to lessen or close the gap between the current and the desired performances. Following the discussion of feedback from a motivational standpoint in the preceding parts, this section discusses how feedback may help students bridge the gap between their present and intended performance. It’s important to think about how feedback affects academic work when it comes to self-regulation. Feedback allows you to close the gap between your present performance and the tutor’s expectations. The only way to know if feedback leads to learning is for pupils to respond in some manner, closing the feedback loop. This remains to be one of the most overlooked aspects of the formative assessment, meaning that feedback is only truly effective if it results in an improved piece of work.
Conclusion
In conclusion, emotional intelligence is heavily intertwined with the educational process and its surroundings for a variety of reasons. Modern students are faced with an ever-changing environment full of new demands and opportunities, resulting in stress, anxiety, and a lack of self-worth. It is therefore clear that the teachers should aim to develop a greater, more profound understanding of their emotions, and teach it themselves. Despite the rapid digitalization of the modern era, the human connections remain just as valuable
References
Chen, J., & Guo, W. (2018). Emotional intelligence can make a difference: The impact of principals’ emotional intelligence on teaching strategy mediated by instructional leadership. Educational Management Administration & Leadership, 48(1), 82-105. Web.
Dwiyanti, V., Ana, A., & Widianingsih, I. (2018). Industrial Education Impact on Vocational Student Social Skills. Innovation Of Vocational Technology Education, 14(2), 98. Web.
Dziewanowska, K. (2017). Value types in higher education – students’ perspective. Journal Of Higher Education Policy And Management, 39(3), 235-246. Web.
Hasanuddin, R., & Sjahruddin, H. (2017). The Structure of Emotional Intelligence, Spiritual Intelligence and Its Relationship with Work Enthusiasm and Auditor Performance. World Journal Of Business And Management, 3(1), 67. Web.
MacCann, C., Jiang, Y., Brown, L., Double, K., Bucich, M., & Minbashian, A. (2020). Emotional intelligence predicts academic performance: A meta-analysis. Psychological Bulletin, 146(2), 150-186. Web.
Mattingly, V., & Kraiger, K. (2019). Can emotional intelligence be trained? A meta-analytical investigation. Human Resource Management Review, 29(2), 140-155. Web.
Mustafa, M., Bin Nordin, M., Razzaq, A., Badaruddin, I. (2020). VOCATIONAL COLLEGE TEACHERS IN MALAYSIA: EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE. PalArch’s Journal of Archaeology of Egypt / Egyptology, 17(9), 5099 – 5106. Web.
Park, S., Stone, S., & Holloway, S. (2017). School-based parental involvement as a predictor of achievement and school learning environment: An elementary school-level analysis. Children And Youth Services Review, 82, 195-206. Web.
Partido, B., & Stafford, R. (2018). Association Between Emotional Intelligence and Academic Performance Among Dental Hygiene Students. Journal Of Dental Education, 82(9), 974-979. Web.
Wu, Y., Lian, K., Hong, P., Liu, S., Lin, R., & Lian, R. (2019). Teachers’ Emotional Intelligence and Self-efficacy: Mediating Role Of Teaching Performance. Social Behavior And Personality: An International Journal, 47(3), 1-10. Web.