Correlation of emotional intelligence of school leaders to perceptions of school climate as perceived by teachers

Research in the business sector indicates that leaders with high levels of emotional intelligence (EI) are more successful than others in leading their companies. School climate has been studied linking classroom level environment to student achievement. In the realm of public education, studies examining the connection between EI of school leaders and school climate as perceived by teachers are lacking. This study will investigate whether such a connection exists.This mixed-factors study uses data from the School Level Environment Questionnaire (SLEQ) which measures teachers' perceptions of school climate and the Mayer Salovey Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test (MSCEIT) which measures the EI of school leaders. The study determined if the two are connected. The data gathered was analyzed quantitatively and qualitatively. The quantitative piece used correlational coefficients and regression analysis to determine if there is a link between the emotional intelligence of school leaders and school climate based on the perceptions of teachers in the schools surveyed. The data was also correlated using a regression line of best fit to get an R-squared to determine the amount of variance in school climate ratings which may be attributed to variables such as gender, years of administrative experience, and age. The qualitative data was gathered through random interviews with school leaders who complete the MSCEIT.This quantitative research involved 14 school leaders from schools in Northeastern United States who participated by taking the MSCEIT. The R-SLEQ survey was taken by 354 teachers from within the schools of the school leaders who participated. In all, teachers had a 52% response rate per school average. Qualitatively, 8 school leaders participated in interviews. Interviews were taped recorded along with notes from the researcher which were later transcribed.Findings indicated that EI of school leaders was not correlated to school climate as perceived by teachers however, there were significant correlations between the two when compared to some factors of the SLEQ. Quantitative analysis indicated that school climate and EI of school leaders are linked.