Emotional competencies as a factor in the leadership of elementary school principals

The popularity of the concept of emotional intelligence (EI) can be attributed to contemporary research that defines this phenomenon as an intelligence, a model of well-being, or as a theory of performance (Goleman, 1998; Bar-On, 1997; Salovey & Mayer, 1997). Goleman's (1998) (EI) theory of performance proposes that emotional competencies are predictors of effective leadership. Research in the world of business demonstrates that emotional competencies are high in above average leaders. The present investigation sought to extend this research to the educational realm. This study rates elementary principals on their use of emotional competencies, including the fundamental component of self-awareness, as these relate to managing self and others.; A correlational design was used to measure the relationship between emotional competence of principals and the presence of factors that correlate with effective schools. Principals and teachers completed two surveys. The Emotional Competency Inventory Version 2 (ECI-2) based on Goleman's (1998) EI framework measured emotional competencies, and a seven item survey on effective schools correlates served as the criterion measure for determining how principals and teachers viewed their schools' effectiveness. Principals and teachers rated the principals' self-awareness on the Accurate Self-Assessment sub-cluster of the ECI-2.; Thirty-one principals and 299 teachers volunteered. Pearson Product Moment correlations were computed on both composite teacher ratings of principal ECI-2 scores and composite effective school correlates for each of the 31 schools. Results indicate both teachers and principals agree that principals rated high in emotional competence are likely to lead schools with characteristics of effectiveness. Principals were classified as either high or low in Self-Assessment. For both the high and low groups, subtracting the teachers' mean rating and principal's rating on Self-Assessment in each building allowed comparisons of principal self awareness perceptions. The resulting rating difference score was referred to as a "gap score". Analysis of these gap scores indicated that principals who are emotionally self-aware were more likely to rate themselves similar to how teachers perceive them.; Further research with the population of K--8 principals is suggested. Human resource departments and graduate schools may consider the relevance of emotional intelligence to the workplace and to training.