{"id":97551,"date":"2020-01-09T17:16:13","date_gmt":"2020-01-10T00:16:13","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/?p=97551"},"modified":"2020-01-09T17:16:13","modified_gmt":"2020-01-10T00:16:13","slug":"emotional-intelligence-an-essential-consideration-in-education-policy-and-curriculum-development-in-sri-lanka","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/2020\/01\/09\/emotional-intelligence-an-essential-consideration-in-education-policy-and-curriculum-development-in-sri-lanka\/","title":{"rendered":"EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE : An Essential Consideration in Education Policy and Curriculum Development in Sri Lanka"},"content":{"rendered":"

Dr. Daya Hewapathirane<\/strong><\/em><\/span><\/h2>\n\n\n

In 1990,\npsychologists John Mayer (University of New Hampshire) and Peter\nSalovey        (Yale University) coined the\nterm, Emotional Intelligence. <\/strong>Emotional Intelligence\nmeans the ability to recognize, understand and manage one\u2019s own emotions and to\nrecognize, understand and influence the emotions of others. In practical terms,\nthis means being aware that emotions can drive our behavior and impact people,\npositively and negatively, and learning how to manage those emotions<\/a> \u2013 both\nour own and others \u2013 especially when we are under pressure. In other\nwords, emotional intelligence involves recognizing, understanding and managing your own emotions and\ninfluencing  the emotions of others. It means the capacity to be\naware of, express and control one’s emotions, thereby being able to handle\ninterpersonal relationships judiciously and empathetically. When\nemotions run high, they change the way our brains function, diminishing our\ncognitive abilities, decision-making powers, and even interpersonal skills. Emotional Intelligence is the key to\nboth personal and professional success. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Daniel Goleman<\/strong><\/a> <\/strong>\u00a0<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u00a0In 1995, in his renowned book titled “Emotional Intelligence\u201d Daniel Goleman<\/a><\/strong>, an American psychologist, developed a framework of five elements that define emotional intelligence. He argued that intellect alone was no guarantee of adeptness or proficiency in identifying one\u2019s own emotions or the emotional expressions of others.\u00a0 Goleman said that It took a special kind of intelligence to process emotional information and utilize it effectively \u2014 whether to facilitate good personal decisions, to resolve conflicts or to motivate oneself and others. Goleman broadened Mayer\u2019s and Salovey\u2019s four-branch system to incorporate five essential elements of emotional intelligence.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

1.   \nEmotional self-awareness<\/strong> \u2014 knowing what one is feeling at\nany given time and understanding the impact those moods have on others. People\nwith high emotional intelligence are usually very self-aware<\/strong><\/a>. They understand their emotions,\nand because of this, they don’t let their feelings rule them. They are\nconfident because they trust their intuition and do not let their emotions get\nout of control. They are willing to take an honest look at themselves. They\nknow their strengths and weaknesses, and they work on these areas so they can perform\nbetter. Many people believe that this self-awareness is the most important part\nof emotional intelligence. You understand your own strengths and limitations; you\noperate from competence and know when to rely on someone else on the team. You\nunderstand your feelings and being aware of what makes you angry, for instance,\ncan help you manage that anger.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

2.    Self-Regulation<\/strong> \u2014\ncontrolling or redirecting one\u2019s emotions; anticipating consequences before\nacting on impulse. This is the ability to control emotions<\/strong><\/a>  and\nimpulses. People who self-regulate typically do not allow themselves to become\ntoo angry or jealous, and they do not make impulsive, careless decisions. They\nthink before they act. Characteristics of self-regulation are thoughtfulness,\ncomfort with change, integrity<\/strong><\/a>, and the ability to say no. Resilience or you stay calm under\npressure and recover quickly from upsets. You don\u2019t brood or panic. In a\ncrisis, people look to the leader for reassurance; if the leader is calm, they\ncan be, too. Emotional balance or you keep any distressful feelings in\ncheck \u2014 instead of blowing up at people, you let them know what\u2019s wrong and\nwhat the solution is.  Self-motivation or you\nkeep moving toward distant goals despite setbacks.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

3.<\/strong>   \nMotivation<\/strong> \u2014 utilizing emotional factors to achieve\ngoals, enjoy the learning process and persevere in the face of obstacles.\nPeople with a high degree of emotional intelligence are usually\n motivated<\/strong><\/a>. They are willing to defer\nimmediate results for long-term success. They are highly productive, love a\nchallenge, and are very effective in whatever they do. <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

4.   \nEmpathy<\/strong> \u2014 sensing the emotions of others. This is\nperhaps the second-most important element of emotional intelligence. Empathy<\/strong><\/a>  is the ability to identify\nwith and understand the wants, needs, and viewpoints of those around you.\nPeople with empathy are good at recognizing the feelings of others, even when\nthose feelings may not be obvious. As a result, empathetic people are usually\nexcellent at managing relationships<\/strong><\/a>, listening<\/strong><\/a>, and relating to others. They\navoid stereotyping and judging too quickly, and they live their lives in a very\nopen, honest way. Because\nyou understand other perspectives, you can put things in ways colleagues\ncomprehend. And you welcome their questions, just to be sure. Cognitive\nempathy, along with reading another person\u2019s feelings accurately, makes for\neffective communication.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

5.   \nSocial skills<\/strong> \u2014 managing relationships,\ninspiring others and inducing desired responses from them. It is usually easy\nto talk to and like people with good social skills, another sign of high\nemotional intelligence. Those with strong social skills are typically team\nplayers. Rather than focus on their own success first, they help others develop\nand shine. They can manage disputes, are excellent communicators, and are\nmasters at building and maintaining relationships. <\/strong>Good listening is a social\nskill. You\npay full attention to the other person and take time to understand what they\nare saying, without talking over them or hijacking the agenda. You put your\npoints in persuasive, clear ways so that people feel relaxed working with you,\nthey laugh easily around you, and most importantly, are motivated and are aware\nabout expectations.\n                                                                                                                                             <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emotional Intelligence Can Be Learned and\nDeveloped <\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

Observe how you react to people. Do you rush to judgment before\nyou know all the facts? Do you stereotype? Look honestly at how you think and\ninteract with other people. Try to put yourself in their place<\/strong><\/a>, and be\nmore open and accepting of their perspectives and needs. Look at your work\nenvironment. Do you seek attention for your accomplishments? Humility can be a\nwonderful quality, and it does not mean that you are shy or lack\nself-confidence. When you practice humility, you say that you know what you\ndid, and you can be quietly confident about it. Give others a chance to shine \u2013\nput the focus on them, and do not worry too much about getting praise for\nyourself. Do a self-evaluation. What are your weaknesses? Are you willing to\naccept that you are not perfect and that you could work on some areas to make\nyourself a better person? Have the courage to look at yourself honestly \u2013 it\ncan change your life.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Examine how you react to stressful\nsituations. Do you become upset every time there is a delay or something does\nnot happen the way you want? Do you blame others or become angry at them, even\nwhen it is not their fault? The ability to stay calm and in control in\ndifficult situations is highly valued \u2013 in the business world and outside it.\nKeep your emotions under control when things go wrong. If you hurt someone’s\nfeelings, apologize directly \u2013 do not ignore what you did or avoid the person.\nPeople are usually more willing to forgive and forget if you make an honest\nattempt to make things right. Examine how your actions will affect others \u2013\nbefore you take those actions. If your decision will impact others, put\nyourself in their place. How will they feel if you do this? Would you want that\nexperience? If you must take the action, how can you help others deal with the\neffects?<\/p>\n\n\n\n

A Key to Success in Life<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

We know people, either at work or in our\npersonal lives, who are good listeners. No matter what kind of situation we are\nin, they always seem to know just what to say \u2013 and how to say it \u2013 so that we\nare not offended or upset. They are caring and considerate, and even if we do\nnot find a solution to our problem, we usually leave, feeling more hopeful and\noptimistic. We also know people who are masters at managing their emotions.\nThey do not get angry in stressful situations. Instead, they have the ability\nto look at a problem and calmly find a solution. They are excellent decision\nmakers, and they know when to trust their intuition. Regardless of their\nstrengths, however, they are usually willing to look at themselves honestly.\nThey take criticism well, and they know when to use it to improve their\nperformance. People like these, have a high degree of emotional intelligence.\nThey know themselves very well, and they are also able to sense the emotional\nneeds of others. Emotional intelligence is the ability to recognize your\nemotions, understand what they are telling you, and realize how your emotions\naffect people around you. It also involves your perception of others: when you\nunderstand how they feel, this allows you to manage relationships more\neffectively. Emotional intelligence is an awareness of your actions and\nfeelings \u2013 and how they affect those around you. It also means that you value\nothers, listen to their wants and needs, and can empathize or identify with\nthem on many different levels.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Applications\nfor Educators<\/strong><\/p>\n\n\n\n

The\nEmotional Intelligence of children starts developing long before they ever\nenter a classroom. But Emotional Intelligence levels will vary widely,\ndepending on each child\u2019s home environment. Thus, teachers must be able to\nrecognize those children whose emotional literacy needs a boost. Teachers\nshould be ready to talk about feelings in the classroom. The message is that no\nemotion is wrong,\u201d but certain ways of expressing those emotions or acting on\nthem are indeed inappropriate. In 2002, UNESCO launched an international\ncampaign to promote emotional learning in the classroom. The U.N. body sent a\nstatement of 10 basic Emotional Intelligence  principles to education\nministries throughout the world. Those principles drew heavily from Goleman\u2019s\nexposition of emotional intelligence. There are very practical reasons to\npromote social and emotional learning in schools, from kindergarten through\ncollege. According to Goleman, bullying, disciplinary problems, violence and\ndrug abuse are reduced in schools with a high Emotional Intelligence. With a\nsolid basis in emotional intelligence, academic performance \u2014 as well as\nbehavior \u2014 improves. There is an obvious connection to Goleman\u2019s third,\nmotivational component: learning stimulates curiosity and promotes feelings of\nsatisfaction, even joy, when students immerse themselves in the process of\nassimilating new information.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Although “regular” intelligence is\nimportant to success in life, emotional intelligence is key to relating well to\nothers and achieving your goals. Many people believe that it is at least as\nimportant as regular intelligence, and many companies in the west, now use\nemotional intelligence testing to hire new staff. Also, Professional\nOrganizations in the western world are increasingly accepting that emotional\nintelligence is important to professional success as much as technical ability and\nother skills and are using it when hiring and promoting employees. People with\nhigh emotional intelligence are usually successful in most things they do. Why?\nBecause they are the ones that others want on their team. When people with high\nemotional intelligence send an email, it gets answered. When they need help,\nthey get it. Because they make others feel good, they go through life much more\neasily than people who are easily angered or upset. For decades, researchers\nhave studied the reasons why a high IQ (IQ is the intelligence quotient, or the total score derived\nfrom several standardized tests designed to assess human intelligence) does not\nnecessarily guarantee success in the boardroom or the classroom. By the 1980s,\npsychologists and biologists, among others, were focusing on the important role\nother skill sets \u2014 needed to process emotional information \u2014 played in\npromoting worldly success, leadership, personal fulfillment and happy\nrelationships.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Emotional intelligence can be a key to\nsuccess in your life \u2013 especially in one\u2019s career. The ability to manage people\nand relationships is very important in all leaders, so developing and using\nyour emotional intelligence can be a good way to show others the leader inside\nof you. Thanks to Goleman, educators now recognize that emotional intelligence\nis every bit as important to learning as intellectual prowess or the standard\nIQ or intelligence\nquotient. As a result, tens of thousands of schools throughout the world\ncurrently incorporate social and emotional learning\u201d in their curricula. In\nsome schools, courses geared toward developing emotional intelligence are\nmandatory. Daniel Goleman, in his book Leadership: The Power of Emotional\nIntelligence,\u201d (2013), underscored that the ability to identify and monitor\nemotions \u2014 your own and others\u2019 \u2014 and to manage relationships distinguish the\nbest leaders in the corporate world, thereby highlighting that role emotional\nintelligence plays in excellence. <\/p>\n\n\n\n

Dr. Daya\nHewapathirane<\/strong><\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Dr. Daya Hewapathirane In 1990, psychologists John Mayer (University of New Hampshire) and Peter Salovey        (Yale University) coined the term, Emotional Intelligence. Emotional Intelligence means the ability to recognize, understand and manage one\u2019s own emotions and to recognize, understand and influence the emotions of others. In practical terms, this means being aware that emotions can […]<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"closed","sticky":true,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[101],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-97551","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-dr-daya-hewapathirane"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97551","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=97551"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/97551\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=97551"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=97551"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.lankaweb.com\/news\/items\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=97551"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}