The Impact of Social-Emotional Curriculum Training on Oregon 4th-8th Grade School Teachers' Emotional Intelligence

The purpose of this study was to examine the trait emotional intelligence (Trait EI) levels of teachers who have implemented an SEL curriculum. In addition, the aim was to discover if there was any difference in teachers’ Trait EI levels depending on gender, years of experience, and level of education. Using a quantitative research design, the Trait EI levels of teachers who participate in an SEL curriculum with an adult component called RULER were compared to the Trait EI levels of teachers who teach an SEL curriculum without an adult component. This data was used to determine if there is a relationship between emotional intelligence levels and the type of program taught. Teachers were surveyed using the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire – Short Form (TEIQue-SF) developed by K.V. Petrides of University College of London to which demographic questions about gender, years of teaching experience, and level of education were appended. The data was analyzed using an ANOVA for years of experience and bootstrapped t-tests for the other categorical variables due to the small sample size. The results showed that there was no relationship between teachers’ Trait EI levels and the type of program they were implementing. Further, there was no significant relationship between years of experience and Trait EI levels or educational attainment and Trait EI levels. There was a significant relationship between gender and one factor of Trait EI, emotionality. Females demonstrated higher scores in that factor than males. In all other factors, including global trait EI scores, there was no significant difference between males and females. Implications of these findings are discussed.