Pre-Service Teachers and Emotional Intelligence: A Scoping Review

Current literature shows that emotional intelligence (EI) plays a significant role in teacher effectiveness. In recognition of this, one Australian state has recently announced that initial teacher education (ITE) graduates must demonstrate superior emotional intelligence in psychometric tests before they will be allowed to apply for jobs in New South Wales' public schools. In order to inform ITE providers and researchers seeking to support pre-service teachers (PST) in developing superior EI, this scoping review examines what is known from the existing literature about PSTs' EI and identifies gaps in the current literature. There were 23 articles published which fit the criteria for this scoping review, 22 of these used quantitative methods. This scoping review revealed that there is a need for methodological diversification within this field and recommends that future studies focus on qualitative research methods to facilitate in-depth understanding of EI within the context of PST.