The Importance of Managing Emotions and Success at School

 This week’s article summary is Students Who Can Manage Their Emotions Do Better in School.

As Trinity focuses on children from age 3 through 6^th grade, most of us know from experience that Emotional Intelligence is just as important—if not more so--in student success at school as IQ.

Think of how critical student self-regulation is in our classrooms: learning how to wait your turn, learning how to share, learning to follow directions, learning that you don’t always get what you want when you want it.

The reality for many schools and in our society at large is that Emotional Intelligence and Academic Achievement too often are put into separate categories. The truth, though, is Emotional Intelligence (intra and interpersonal skills) supports Academic Achievement. Being able to listen in class, to work cooperatively and collaboratively with others, to organize oneself, to do work at home (including homework in older grades) all obviously lead to better academic performance.

This is why at Trinity we talk so much about teaching the whole child and helping form his/her academic and character foundation.

More and more research illustrates the interrelation and interdependence of IQ and EQ: here’s another article on EQ traits and how to teach them at school and at home.

Joe

 

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Emotional intelligence is an important part of academic success—from kindergarten into college—according to a new study. In particular, students who understand and can manage their emotions earn higher grades and do better on standardized tests.

 

The findings help bolster the growing consensus among researchers that skills such as emotional intelligence are not just important for future workplace success, but also students' academic success in the here and now.

 

While raw intelligence, or IQ, is still the biggest predictor of academic performance, the study's findings put understanding and managing emotions right up there with it.

 

The study also examines different types of emotional intelligence and methods of measuring it to see how these variations impact tests, grades, and success in different academic subjects.

 

The goal is to determine exactly what parts of emotional intelligence move the needle on academics. For example, the study found that students' ability to read others' emotions was not as important as the ability to regulate their own emotions.

 

Emotionally intelligent students may also be better at handling negative emotions that come from, say, test anxiety.

 

Students with high emotional intelligence may also be better at managing their social world—from navigating peer pressure to forming positive relationships with teachers—which puts them in a better position to focus on learning

 

The biggest takeaway from the study is teaching emotional intelligence skills doesn't detract from students' academics—it boosts them.