Socio-Emotional Inteligence - Its Role In The Formation And Development Of Pupils’ Personality

Abstract

In this article, we propose ourselves to argue the importance and necessity of acquiring socio-emotional intelligence at the level of pupils in the middle school, through which the form teacher can plant and cultivate self-confidence, can form an objective self-image and a strong self-esteem. Socio-emotional intelligence plays a significant role in the formation and development of human personality, because it includes a range of interpersonal or social and intrapersonal or emotional issues. By acquiring social intelligence, the pupil adapts more easily to the social conditions of the environment, society and through emotional intelligence, he/she learns to recognize his/her own emotions and others, to use them in diverse contexts with beneficial effects on behavior and attitude. Therefore, the socio-emotional intelligence emphasizes both the internalisation of the values ​​and attitudes promoted by society in general, applicable to the scale of the educational system through the aims of education, ideals, goals, objectives, as well as their exteriorization. On the part of empirical research, we want to identify the degree of development of emotional intelligence in children aged between 9 and 10 who attend compulsory education, middle school, i.e. the 3rd and 4th grades, by applying a test developed by Daniel Goleman in 1995 and adapted by Mihaela Roco in 2004.

Keywords: Socio-emotional intelligenceemotional intelligencesocial intelligencepersonalitydevelopment

Introduction

Intelligence has been and is a widely discussed concept of scholars in general in psychology, in particular. This general human skill is the subject of many psychological studies. Most consider it a general ability to adapt the individual to unknown problems and situations that occur in natural, social, individual, solvable by cognitive and non-cognitive mechanisms (affective, motivational, volitional and characteristic).

In a pedagogical perspective it is necessary to capitalize the intelligence developed in three hypostases: "1) cognitive modality , different from emotional reactivity and effort capacity; 2) ability to solve problems by structures opposed to automatisms "; 3) the possibility of overmedication of thought in the study of differential psychology (Claparede) (Popescu-Neveanu, 1978, p. 362). The current pedagogical outlook confirms the three hypostases of intelligence, but emphasizes the importance of emotional reactivity, but also of motivation and will in affirming a new type of intelligence, the important socio-emotional intelligence, sometimes even very important, in solving special situations and problems.

Problem Statement

Applying teaching strategies appropriate to the age and individual peculiarities of pupils, an efficient and subtle communication with their parents, converge to the acquisition of valuable "lessons" of empathy, with a strong impact on the affective, cognitive and volitional plane. Not implying pupils in such lessons will lead to more and more accentuated accumulation of frustrations, and it is caused by the lack of empathy and the impossibility of it ever being appropriated.

2.1. This study aims to determine the emotional development of pupils aged between 9 and 10 years in order to determine how emotional intelligence can influence the moral development of pupils.

We can further investigate the process of determining empathic capacity in order to internalize the desirable moral values of a civilized society.

2.2. It also aims at identifying the social development degree of children aged between 9 and 10 years in order to determine how social intelligence can influence the moral development of pupils. This aim is to seek a starting point in developing appropriate teaching strategies.

Research Questions

Research questions lead to valid answers regarding socio-emotional development.

3.1. What is the degree of socio-emotional development of pupils aged between 9 and 10?

Purpose of the Study

The purpose of this study is to reveal the extent to which pupils demonstrate the ability to master their emotions when involved in events or circumstances less known to them, translating them into unusual, critical or stressful situations.

4.1. This investigation will determine the level of socio-emotional development of primary school pupils aged between 9 and 10 years.

Research Methods

The quantitative survey used to collect the data needed to conduct the survey based on a questionnaire, containing 10 questions. The questionnaire was designed by the famous American researcher Goleman in 1995 and applied to 145 subjects in the second semester of the school year 2017-2018. The questions that make up the questionnaire are the scenarios (situations) that could arise during the school life in which pupils have to choose the answer from four variants offered by their author, Goleman. Thus, pupils are asked to choose among the proposed variants the answer that fits them best, i.e the one who best describes their reaction; as would the respondent actually do if he had gone through the situation presented, and not how he thinks it should be the answer.

5.1. The answer quantification is as follows: each of the questions has a score based on the correct answer, i.e. 20 points, 5 points, or 0 points. The accumulation of scores from the ten questions determines the final score for each topic, and it will describe globally the level of development of the emotional intelligence of the entire group of subjects. Consequently, a score of up to 100 points will be a score below average, between 100 and 150 points an average score, 150-199 points above average and over 200 exceptional points.

5.2. The group of subjects consists of 145 subjects, boys and girls, pupils of the "Traian" Gymnasium School in Pitesti, 68 pupils in the 3^rd grade and 77 in the 4^th grade - distributed according to the biological genre as can be seen in Table 1 .

Findings

Analyzing the answers given by the investigated subjects, it can be considered that most of the answers of the third grade pupils fall below the average score, which means low emotional intelligence, and for the pupils in the fourth grade the score is average, which is a higher intelligence than that of third-grade pupils. Analysis of the results by categories of scores and percentages can also be seen in table no.2.

The analysis of pupils' answers by grades is highlighted in Table no. 02

By reporting the results of the questionnaire to the whole group of subjects it can be ascertained that an average score was obtained indicating an average level of development of emotional intelligence among 9-10 year old pupils undergoing testing, and subsequently to determine which are the causes underlying this score (See table 03 ).

The average score obtained by applying the test to the group of subjects indicates an average ability to adapt to unusual situations; it can be improved in developing the motivation of each pupil, finding appropriate solutions to the problems inherent in the school life, and establishing a high level of optimism and perseverance.

Conclusion

The factors that negatively influence the emotional development of pupils are very diverse, one of the most important is the behavioral baggage that the pupil is endowed with during the first years of his life in the family, how the child reacted with others. That is why the teacher has the important task of discovering pupils with anxiety, behavioral disorders, various mental illnesses caused by the lack of relationship and effective communication with their parents, finding ameliorative or even eliminatory solutions to these undesirable effects.

In the observed micro-examination was presented the degree of development of emotional intelligence on the group of subjects from 9 to10 years old pupils in order to determine the adaptability of pupils to unusual situations or circumstances.

The teacher having a decisive role in the formation and development of human personality, especially the teacher, who "shapes" characters, must find and apply a series of educational strategies that give the pupil moral autonomy, self-esteem, management effectiveness of potential aggressive reactions, etc.

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