An exploration of how outstanding teachers use emotional intelligence to create positive classroom climates

The objectives of this qualitative study were to (a) explore how outstanding teachers use their emotional intelligence to create positive classroom climates and to understand the mechanism by which a teacher’s emotional intelligence can influence his/her ability to create and maintain these climates; and (b) explore whether outstanding teachers use and manage emotions differently than typical teachers. Eight teachers, including four administrator-nominated typical teachers and four administrator-nominated outstanding teachers, from one single-sex religious high school were closely studied via semi-structured interviews and behavioral classroom observations. A systematic and intensely disciplined qualitative analysis of the data using both intra-case and cross-case analysis yielded six primary themes which differentiated typical teachers from outstanding teachers: (a) outstanding teachers constantly monitored emotions in the classroom, (b) outstanding teachers expressed greater empathy in response to student complaints, (c) outstanding teachers experienced and modeled more passion about their subject areas, (d) outstanding teachers engaged in more emotional self-regulation techniques in response to frustrating classroom behaviors, (e) outstanding teachers engaged in fewer negative classroom management strategies, and (f) outstanding teachers used student-focused techniques rather than self-revelation to forge relationships with students. Each theme is then explored in relation to the construct of emotional intelligence and in relation to current research on effective teaching. Implications for teacher training, evaluation, consultation and recruitment are discussed.Psy.D.Includes bibliographical referencesby Dana Galle