Emotional Intelligence, Quality of Life, and Concern for Gender Perspective in Future Teachers

Abstract

In recent years, concern in Spain for gender issues has been on the rise. The United Nations has established the Sustainable Development Goals, among which is the concern for achieving quality education and gender equity. In view of the above, this study analyzed the relationship between emotional intelligence and quality of life in university students taking degrees related to education; the study took into account variables such as sex, studies completed, and the degree of concern that the students show about the incorporation of the gender perspective in their curriculum. The sample consisted of 442 students from different Spanish universities who responded to an online questionnaire that included sociodemographic questions and several questionnaires, which allowed for an analysis of emotional intelligence (TMMS-24), satisfaction with life (SWLS-C), and gender-sensitive evaluation of training in gender equality (ESFIG). Some of the main results obtained concluded that there were no differences between the sexes with respect to the perception of quality of life, with the people who were more satisfied with their lives being those who were more sensitive to the incorporation of a gender perspective in training plans. In relation to emotional intelligence, women scored higher in the attention dimension and men in the emotional clarity and repair. In turn, females showed greater interest in including the treatment of gender issues in their academic training. The findings obtained show the need for future teacher training plans to pay attention to the satisfaction with life shown by students in addition to favoring the development of emotional competencies and the incorporation of gender perspective, considering the social, personal, and work-related benefits that this will bring about.