The Inner Life of Educational Gladiators: An Exploratory Case Study on how Emotional Intelligence Informs, Guides and Motivates K-5 Elementary Principals who work in Title 1 Schools

In this exploratory case study, the affective lives of five urban elementary principals are explored through the lens of emotional intelligence. The role of emotions and how leaders identify, understand, use and manage their emotions while leading within educational environments will be investigated. This study will be guided by the central research question: How do K-5 educational leaders use their emotional selves to lead and survive in highly emotional learning environments found in today's Title 1 elementary schools? This question is further broken down into four sub questions: 1.) How do leaders use their emotions to inform their daily decisions? 2.) How do leaders identify and account for their emotions and feelings? 3.) How do leaders express their emotions in their work environment? 4.) How do emotions motivate leaders to endure the challenges of educational leadership? The five urban elementary principals share reflections, memories and stories concerning their private selves and the impact of their emotional selves on their professional lives as educational leaders. The lack of scholarly work on the emotional self lends to a pervasive silence and disregard on the reality of the affective life. Hence, the existence of the ""' myth of rationality"' continues to define and dominates leadership research and practice, and in so doing, limits a full understanding of a leader who feels, thinks, and acts in a holistic manner. Thus, a more robust, critical study that adds the actual voices of urban educational leaders is needed to broaden and deepen the role emotions and emotional intelligence impact the inner lives and leadership of urban school leaders.;Keywords: emotions, emotional intelligence, Title 1, elementary, urban, educational leadership.