Exploring Inclusive Support Practices for Less Emotionally Intelligent Students at Nazarbayev Intellectual School

Emotional intelligence (EI) is developing into an important concept in education. It has become increasingly vital for success in different areas, such as the workplace (Goleman, 1995). In education, modern reality requires students that exhibit a high level of emotional intelligence. However, in some schools, curriculum lacks the procedure of identifying and supporting students with a low level of emotional intelligence. As a result, school staff, particularly teachers and curators, have to cope with possible challenges presented by students with emotional difficulties. The purpose of this study was to explore inclusive support that schools can provide for less emotionally intelligent students. In order to find answers to the research questions, the qualitative research study was conducted. A total of ten participants were interviewed, representing school psychologists, teachers and curators. The findings demonstrated that the group of participants had a basic understanding of the concept of emotional intelligence and stressed the importance of its development. However, they did not have any unified instruments to identify the level of emotional intelligence; consequently, the characteristics of less emotionally intelligent students were diverse. There were controversial findings concerning the relationship between the level of emotional intelligence and academic performance. Participants pointed out the challenges which they have faced in supporting students with a low level of emotional intelligence. The interviewees also highlighted the role of family, especially parents, as an important factor in the development of emotional intelligence. In spite of the fact that participants had theoretical knowledge concerning emotional intelligence and they were implementing it in practice, they did not consider this experience to be sufficient. It was more likely that improving the school staff’s emotional competence may lead to developing students’ emotional intelligence. It was unexpected that some respondents connected a low level of emotional intelligence of students with their usage of social media. The results of the study revealed practice which teachers and other school staff provided to support less emotionally intelligent students