Emotional intelligence has been
linked to effective leadership (Goleman & Boyatzis, 2002, 2008).
Therefore, the curriculum for educator preparation
and school leadership programs must explicitly address leadership skill
development. However, in many programs, the
expectation is often for emotional intelligence behaviors to be implicitly
developed rather than explicitly taught. Without effective leadership, education reform
cannot take place (Creighton &
Jones, 2001). Effective educational
leadership programs result from program experiences as well as the quality of
entering candidates (Creighton &
Jones, 2001). Unfortunately,
preparation programs remain pressured to accept adequate numbers of candidates
to justify the program’s cost and existence (Creighton & Jones, 2001). This increases the need for optimal curriculum
efficiency rather than effectiveness.
Accountability of teacher
preparation and school leadership programs remain an ongoing process (CAEP, 2013). ). Typically,
students’ evaluation of faculty, pre-admission compared to post-graduation
surveys, and the annual state/accreditation council review of the program,
produce the data used to ascertain each program’s success. School leaders identify courses as ineffective
because it takes years before graduates actually have a school leadership
position. This causes coursework to
become either forgotten or outdated (Bottoms
& O’Neill, 2001). Implementation
of processes that develop broader leadership skills in decision-making and
problem solving must therefore serve a significant role within school
leadership preparation programs (Marzano,
Waters, & McNulty, 2005; Short, 1997).
Sanders’ (2010) quantitative
study examined the perceptions of professors that focus upon educational
leadership in their work within institutes of higher education (IHE). Specifically, Sanders sought to identify the
professors’ understanding of competencies related to emotional intelligence and
the extent to which these competencies were being included within their IHE
teacher leadership programs. Left
unanswered was whether demonstrated emotional intelligence related to perceptions
of an optimal school climate. Maulding et al. (2010) sought clarification of
the correlation between the twenty-one leadership behaviors identified by
Marzano et al. (2005) and student achievement. In contrast to findings posited by the Marzano
et al. (2005) meta-analysis, the Maulding et al., studies (2010, 2012) clearly
indicated a lack of correlation between emotional intelligence of school
leaders and student achievement as evidenced by the school’s performance level.
A study by Byron
(2001) found educational programs that focus upon emotional intelligence
behaviors produced successful outcomes. Byron
(2001) cited the benefits of attending to “the cultures of learning, to the
individual's current abilities, propensities, and current conceptions, and to
fundamental reorganizations of behavior, not just acceleration and
fine-tuning" (Grotzer & Perkins, 2012, p. 510). However, Mayer
and Salovey (1997) cautioned against focusing solely upon one dimension or
sub-skill of emotional intelligence. Any
program seeking to develop emotional intelligence skills “should be empirically
defensible, measurable, and clear enough to serve as a basis for curriculum
development" (Cobb
& Mayer, 2000, p. 18).
Teaching is considered one of the most stressful occupations
(Palomera,
Fernandez-Berrocal, & Brackett, 2008). This increases the importance of emotional
intelligence skills training because professional development or training in
emotional intelligence skills can support teachers’ coping skills within a
stressful environment. Teacher burnout
becomes more predictable in relation to stress.
By contrast, teachers exhibiting high emotional
intelligence use more positive, well-adapted, coping strategies to deal with different
sources of stress at school, thereby feeling greater job satisfaction (Palomera
et al., 2008). Surveyed teachers
identified the ability to regulate emotions as indispensable for reaching reach
academic goals (Palomera et al., 2008). Emotional
intelligence skills training become essential to mitigate teacher burnout,
thereby affecting an educator’s professional longevity, personal satisfaction,
and student learning.
Studies involving teaching and learning typically focus
upon knowledge, cognition, and skill. Studies
involving teacher beliefs or practices allow researchers to make observable
measurements. Despite this propensity,
Hargreaves (2001) emphasized the need to address emotional practices since emotions
are embedded within the conditions and interactions of teaching. Therefore, educator and leadership preparation
programs will benefit from including intentional
invitations to increase competence in emotional awareness in the pursuit of
realizing full human potential (Purkey &
Novak, 2016).
For optimal emotional intelligence development among
prospective teachers, Rojas
(2012) advocated for three needs:
1.
Development of emotional intelligence begins with a
commitment to change.
2.
Application of emotional intelligence learning within
environments favorable to emotional intelligence development.
3.
Pursuit of an ideal allows interdependent application
of all other emotional intelligence competencies.
Action research projects within
capstone courses can assess each program’s measurable outcomes. Results of program completion need to include
competency development in subject matter knowledge, pedagogical knowledge, and
caring teacher leadership skills. Course
objectives need to align with these three competency areas (CAEP, 2013). Capstone research courses require that the
students identify research questions relevant to their program-based studies,
review and analyze important research related to the topic, design an
action-research study using qualitative or quantitative methodology, and
reflect on the implications of this study to enhance the quality of teaching
and leadership.
Currently, explicit course
work in both emotional intelligence behaviors within the workplace and development
of school climate based on Invitational Education theory is missing from too
many undergraduate teacher preparation and graduate teacher leadership programs.
A moderately strong correlation
was found between the demonstration of a leader’s high emotional intelligence
behaviors and the perception of a positive school climate (Anderson, 2016). Therefore, course
objectives throughout each undergraduate teacher preparation and graduate leadership program should intentionally invite skill development that advances emotional
intelligence competencies to optimize school climate.
To Cite:
Anderson, C.J. (December 31, 2017) Educator preparation programs need to explicitly
develop
emotional intelligence and leadership skills [Web log post]
Retrieved from http://www.ucan-cja.blogspot.com/
emotional intelligence and leadership skills [Web log post]
Retrieved from http://www.ucan-cja.blogspot.com/
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