Effective Schools Researchers
examined sustainable learning organizations and consistently found “effective
schools have strong and effective leadership” (Lezotte & Snyder, 2011,
p. 51). Leader charisma, individualized consideration, and intellectual
stimulation characterize a leaders’ ability to transform subordinate motivation
and group performance (Bass, 1999; Northouse, 2010). In contrast to models
of transformational leadership, which too often depend upon the charisma of
the leader, distributed
leadership approaches emphasize concepts such as democracy, empowerment,
and autonomy, thereby providing a powerful tool for transforming educational
leadership practice (Spillane, Camburn, Pustejovsky, Pareja, & Lewis, 2007).
Yet, Storey (2004) found distributed leadership merely exhibits “an exercise in
re-labeling” (p. 398). Sustained school improvement must rely upon a school-wide climate of high
expectations for success (Lezotte & Snyder, 2011). Leaders promoting personally
and professionally inviting opportunities for development provide an
optimal model for success within today’s schools (Burns & Martin, 2010;
Purkey & Siegel, 2013).
It is
essential that teacher preparation programs effectively and efficiently develop
teacher leadership because research demonstrates clear correlation between
student academic achievement and teacher quality (Whitehurst,
2002). As noted by Purkey and Novak (2008), invitations for personal and
professional development must be conveyed and recognized as an explicit
opportunity. Therefore, to be dependably inviting, school leaders need to have
the skills to effectively convey and then check for receipt. Only then does
acceptance become a possibility. The influence of emotional intelligence upon
school climate has been researched (Anderson,
2016; Abdulkarim, 2013; Curry, 2009; Juma, 2013). However, the impact of demonstrated or
applied EI upon one’s ability to extend, monitor, or receive the invitation
as an opportunity remains unclear and will benefit from further empirical
research.
Previous studies
(Purkey & Siegel, 2013; Burns & Martin, 2010)
posited leadership advancing Invitational
Education (IE) theory encourages people to tap into their unlimited
potential. IE theory includes vital elements needed for success within today’s
educational organizations (Burns & Martin, 2010). Graduate programs
intending to develop highly qualified teacher leaders must seek to optimize the
identification and development of correlates optimizing educational leadership
(Council for the Accreditation of Educator
Preparation, 2019). Such correlates promote sustained school success
(Lezotte & Snyder, 2011).
Winston and
Hartsfield (2004) identified correlations between three of the four sub-skills of
emotional intelligence (Mayer & Salovey, 1997) and leadership
behaviors that promote positive school climate. These behaviors include
empowerment (Patterson, 2003; Wong & Page, 2003) and collaboration (Stone,
Russell & Patterson, 2004). Climate-building behaviors also embrace teacher
autonomy (Sendjaya & Sarros, 2002; Winston & Hartsfield, 2004). Marzano
and Waters (2009) identify the importance of “defined
autonomy” (p.8).
The empirical study
by Anderson, 2016 increased
understanding of how demonstrated or
applied emotional intelligence behaviors correlate with the teacher’s
perceptions of school and whether certain emotional intelligence (EI) sub-skills
more or less influence perceptions of
school climate related to IE theory. The findings can inform a university’s
graduate-level programming, identify leadership factors that influence school
climate, and guide future research on the impact of demonstrated emotional
intelligence behaviors upon perceptions of school climate.
Research
by Momeni (2009) found dimensions of emotional intelligence
explained 70% of employees' perceptions of organizational climate result
directly from a manager's morale and behavior. The
awareness and management of emotions, as well as perception of emotions by
others, provide critical elements for success as a leader (Cherniss,
2010). However, as noted
above, additional research is needed to examine the impact of demonstrated EI
upon a teacher’s ability to receive, monitor, or extend an intentional
invitation as an opportunity to optimize human potential.
To Cite:
Anderson, C.J. (May 31, 2019) Applied emotional
intelligence behaviors influence teachers’
perceptions of school
climate. [Web log post] Retrieved from
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