Applied Emotional Intelligence Behaviors Influence Teachers’ Perceptions of School Climate

        Despite the presence of difficult circumstances, effective schools sustain improvement through capacity building and equipping teachers to lead development and innovation initiatives (Harris & Chapman, 2002). Socialization provides a strategic process for studying the current culture and determining how it might need to change (Schein, 1984). Teacher and leadership development programs must provide high quality learning and teaching in schools. Ideally, quality results from leadership approaches that embrace “the principles of professional collaboration, development, and growth” (Muijs & Harris, 2007, p. 40).

      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. 

      Educators trained to develop their emotional intelligence as part of their professional leadership repertoire can proactively utilize both their cognitive and metacognitive skills (Brackett & Katulak, 2007). Invitational Education (IE) theory contributes to school effectiveness by the way that its leaders demonstrate care for, and support of, the efforts of others (Halpin, 2003; Purkey & Siegel, 2013). The basic tenets of IE theory exhibited by the inviting leader include intentionality, care, optimism, respect, and trust (ICORT). Implementation of IE theory promotes ICORT (Purkey & Novak, 2016; Anderson 2017) and thereby provides a means of summoning people to realize their relatively boundless potential in all worthwhile human endeavors (Burns & Martin, 2010).    

To Cite:

Anderson, C.J. (May 31, 2019) Applied emotional intelligence behaviors influence teachers’ 

             perceptions of school climate. [Web log post] Retrieved from 

             http://www.ucan-cja.blogspot.com/

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