Teaching Literature through an Emotional Intelligence Model: Psychological Impacts on Academic Performance

Abstract

In an attempt to examine the effect of social-emotional learning programs on the academic progress of grade 11 students, a 12-week experimental study was conducted.  This study included 174 male and female grade 11 students from two private schools in Lebanon. The researchers introduced emotional intelligence skills and abilities through two steps: the first included an introductory program to Emotional intelligence and the second was the analysis of four literary short stories. The instructional approach addressed three levels. The first is ESL. Informational and conceptual levels followed. To develop their understanding of emotional intelligence, students analyzed the emotional intelligence traits and skills of the protagonists and the antagonists in each story. To measure the impact of the program, participants took the Shutte Social Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) both before and after the intervention. The statistical analysis included the following procedures: (1) Descriptive statistics were used to present the differences in means and standard variation of both dependent and independent variables. (2) Paired t-tests and independent t-tests were made to see differences in means among control and experimental groups as well as in the same group to compare pre and post-results. The results did not reveal significant improvements in the students' overall average scores. However, the correlational analysis showed a relationship between students’ academic results and emotional intelligence (EQ) revealing that higher levels of emotional intelligence were associated with greater academic success.