Developing the emotional competence of teachers and pupils in school contexts

Introduction. This paper describes the evaluation of two training programmes, one targeted at teachers and the other at pupils, the aim of both being to improve personal and social wellbeing through the development of emotional competence (emotional awareness, emotional regulation, emotional autonomy, social competence and life competencies). Method. Participants were 92 teachers and 423 children aged 6-12 years from various primary schools. A quasi-experimental pre-test/post-test design with control group was used to evaluate the efficacy of the two training programmes, with different instruments being applied to measure the evolution of emotional competence and its five dimensions. Results. The results showed a significant improvement in the emotional competence of participants at the end of the intervention, together with a better relational climate in schools. Discussion and Conclusion. They also corroborate current expert opinion that emotional competencies such as emotional awareness, emotion regulation, emotional autonomy, social competence, and life and well being competencies can be taught and learnt