Building Emotional Intelligence for Student Success: A Pilot Study

Abstract

Purpose Nationwide, upward trends exist in student issues with anxiety, stress, depression, and lowered classroom performance. As emotional awareness and emotional regulation skills are typically not addressed in professional discipline-specific courses, students experience challenges in their academic performance. This pilot research explored the effect of brief targeted classroom practices within an empowerment-based framework on domains of emotional intelligence. Method Twenty-two students in an undergraduate speech-language pathology class received a 13-week, biweekly, 15-min session of empowerment-based worksheet exercises to develop increased self-esteem, emotional awareness and regulation, and communication. Assessments of self-esteem, emotional intelligence, communication competence, and communication apprehension were conducted using validated scales, namely, the Rosenberg Self-Esteem Scale ( Rosenberg, 1965 ), the Quick Emotional Intelligence Self-Assessment ( Mohapel, 2015 ), the Self-Perceived Communication Competence Scale ( McCroskey & McCroskey, 2013 ), and the Personal Report of Communication Apprehension ( McCroskey, 1982 ), respectively. Midsemester and semester-end student reflections were collected. Results Paired t tests were significant in self-esteem and emotional quotient, including subdomains of emotional awareness, emotional management, social emotional awareness, and relational management. Significance was noted in communication competence in the subdomains of dyad interaction, stranger interaction, and acquaintance. Students' reflection showed significant improvement in empowerment and self-rated improvements in confidence, communication, connections with peers, and trust with instructor. Conclusion Preliminary evidence demonstrates positive outcomes with integration of intentional classroom exercises to build emotional intelligence (including emotional awareness and regulation), self-esteem, and communication. This empowerment model may assist faculty in developing effective pedagogical strategies to build students' self-resiliency.