The relationship between the emotional intelligence competencies of principals in the Kanawha County School System in West Virginia and their teachers\u27 perceptions of school climate.

The purpose of this study was to determine if a significant relationship exists between teachers\u27 perceptions of school climate and their principals\u27 emotional intelligence competencies. The CFK Ltd. School Climate Profile was used to assess teachers\u27 perceptions of school climate. Principals\u27 emotional intelligence competencies were measured by the BarOn Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ-i). Teachers and principals were all employees of the Kanawha County School System in West Virginia. The entire population of principals (N = 68) and the entire population of school-based classroom teachers (N = 2081) were provided surveys. One hundred percent of the principals participated and 57% (N = 1190) of the teachers returned surveys. The Pearson Product Moment Correlation and the chi square test of independence were used in data analysis. An alpha level of .05 served as the level of significance for the study. Results of the study indicated that there was a statistically significant negative correlation between principals\u27 emotional intelligence competencies and their teachers\u27 perceptions of school climate. Teachers perceived school climate to be more positive for female principals. Female teachers perceived school climate to be more positive than male teachers. Elementary teachers were significantly more positive about school climate than middle and high school teachers. Teachers in small and average-size schools perceived climate to be significantly more positive than teachers in large schools