Young Learners Emotional Intelligence

A thesis Presented to the Faculty of Education Miriam College Katipunan, Quezon City

In Partial Fulfillment Of the Requirements for the Degree Masters of Education Major in Measurement and Evaluation

Maria Dolores Roxas-Dolfo

I.

Background of the Study

Emotional intelligence, unlike IQ, is not fixed at birth. On the contrary it can, and should, be taught. There are several emotional intelligence curricula that exist today and are being taught in elementary schools. Some of the leaders in the emotional intelligence movement advocate teaching emotional intelligence as a separate class, others advocate blending the standard academic material with lessons on emotional intelligence. The common thread is the goal of raising the level of social and emotional competence in children as a part of their regular education not just something taught remedially to children who are faltering and identified as troubled, but a set of skills and understanding essential for every child.

This research is based on Daniel Golemans theory and series of studies that emotional literacy programs improve childrens academic achievement scores and school performance. The researcher will examine and check if this integration of Emotional Intelligence Program to lessons will also have a positive effect on our Filipino children.

OBJECTIVES The study aims to do the following: 1. Assess and determine the strength of the assumed relationship between the students Emotional Intelligence and their academic performance. 2. Develop an instructional program that can help develop the Emotional Intelligence of preschool students.

II.

Reasearch Problem This study intends to assess the effect of the Emotional Intelligence Teaching Approach on pupils. This aims to answer the following questions: 1. What is the Emotional Intelligence level of the pre school children? 2. What are the common needs that should be addressed by teachers and school administrators according to respondents? 3. Is there a relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Academic Performance? 4. Based on the results, what developmental instructional program can be designed to meet the needs of the pre school children?

III.

Key Definitions and their Variables We define EI as the capacity to reason about emotions, and of emotions to enhance thinking. It includes the abilities to accurately perceive emotions, to access and generate emotions so as to assist thought, to understand emotions and emotional knowledge, and to reflectively regulate emotions so as to promote emotional and intellectual growth. (Meyer, John D., 2006 )

Emotional Intelligence which refers to how you handle your own feelings, how well you emphatize and get along with other people, is just a key human skill. But it also turns out that kids who are better able to manage their emotions, for example, actually pay attention better, can take in information better, can remember better. In other words, it helps you learn better. (Goleman, Daniel. Edutopia, Spring 2001)

IV.

The Research Paradigm

This research is based on Daniel Golemans theory and series of studies that emotional literacy programs improve childrens academic achievement scores and school performance. The researcher will examine and check if this integration of Emotional Intelligence Program to lessons will also have a positive effect on our Filipino children. The academic grades and the Emotional Intelligence of the Preschool students will be determined on the first grading period. This will determine the type of EQ the students needed to improve. Then a lesson intervention will be administered by the researcher to help increase the needed EQ. After the 2nd grading another test will be given to the students to check if theres a difference as well as their academic grades.

Conceptual Framework

Pre test 1st Qtr Academic Achievement Post test 2nd Qtr Emotional Intelligence

EQ Curriculum Intervention

V.

Methodology a. Research Design This study will use the experimental method design.

b. Description of Research Locale The research will be conducted at the Pre school of St. Theresas School of Novaliches (STSN), which is located at #7 Kingfisher St. Zabarte Subd. Novaliches, Q.C. It is a corporate owned school running for 20 years already, which caters from Pre School to high school. The Pre School is located inside the STSN school campus. It comprises nursery, kindergarten 1 and kindergarten 2. STSN envisions that every childs capacity should be developed to the fullest in a happy learning environment. The St. Theresas School of Novaliches commits itself to the integral formation of its students as it provides and nurtures a Christian environment where each individual discovers himself in various settings, explores his talents, master his strengths, overcome his weaknesses, gets to know his land and his people, responds to the needs of the times and learns to emulate, in thoughts, words and deeds, the virtues of humility and fortitude which St. Teresa of Avila exemplified as true child of God.

c. The Research Sample This study will utilize the purposive sampling method. The pre school students, from Nursery to Kinder2 (totaling to 130 students) of St. Theresas School of Novaliches will be the respondents of this study.

Instruments The general average of the 1st and 2nd grading period will be used as their academic achievements (as reflective in the report card).

Emotional Quotient Scale for Children (EQS-C) will be the instrument to be used in measuring the EQ of the children.

EQS-C is a Response Choice Picture Test to determine and measure the emotional quotient of a child following Colemans five dimension namely: SelfAwareness, Managing Emotions or Moods, Self-Motivation, Empathy and Handling Relationships. It is a multiple-choice test where each item is composed of a stimulus format depicting people exposed to given situations that require a common choice of action or reaction. There are 87 pictures printed on white board, size 8.5 inches by 11 inches. The first 5 items require a personal choice of action or reaction from a set of 3 pictures while the rest of the items (18 items) depict situations where the test taker is asked to choose his/her course of action from a set of 3 pictures for each item that will be shown to him/her.

Data Collection and Analysis Procedure The researcher will gather data by obtaining the grades on their report cards for the 1st grading period, and the result to the EQS-C test. This will serve as a baseline for the study. The EQS-C test results will be used to recommend intervention measures that will be integrated to the lesson. After which, before the end of the 2nd quarter an EQS-C test will be administered again and the result of grades for the 2nd grading period will then be obtain to determine the effects of the intervention procedure.