Emotional Intelligence Life-Skills Programme In The Prevention And Management Of Bullying Behaviour In Schools.
Main Article Content
Abstract
Bullying victimization and perpetration in South African schools is an ongoing blight and this study’s focus was on the role of Emotional Intelligence (EI) in a Life-skills programme in prevention and management of bullying behaviour. Emotional intelligence plays an integral role in life skills pedagogical content knowledge, therefore, EI Life-skills intervention programme was developed and implemented to equip bullies with emotional and social competence and empathetic skills that will enable them to constructively solve conflicts. Quantitative research method was used to collect and analyze data for the study. The total sample of (n=40) participants comprised of Grade 09 learners between the ages of 13-15 were selected. The choice of the sample was motivated by the fact that the selected learners were bullying perpetrators. The (n=40) were evenly distributed into two groups, namely, Group A (experimental) and Group B (control) 57.5% were males and 42.5% were females. The Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) (1998) was used to collect data from the participants. Pre-test and post-test trials were conducted. The effectiveness of the programme was assessed to determine whether it can be used as an intervention tool to decrease bullying behaviour from those who bully others. Participants in the experimental group scored higher in overall EI when compared to participants in the control group post-intervention. This suggests that EI as a life-skills programme can be a powerful intervention tool in preventing bullying by fostering empathy, improving communication, and enhancing social skills among learners.
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References
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