Relationship Between Pre-Service Teacher’s Emotional and Cultural Intelligence and Self-Efficacy and Outcome Expectancy

• In Event: Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: PS 10 Topic - Education, Schooling

Abstract

Developing teachers’ social-emotional learning (SEL) can support them in building positive relationships with students (Jennings & Greenberg, 2009), and creating safe classroom environments (Denham et al., 2012). Since few novice teachers feel prepared to manage a classroom with students from diverse cultural backgrounds (Acquah et al., 2016), there is a need to understand competencies that support them in delivering SEL through a lens of cultural competence. This information would support teacher preparation programs in preparing pre-service teachers (PST) with effective SEL instructional strategies along with cultural awareness so that they can better translate their knowledge and skills into teaching practices (Hollie, 2018).

The current study examines PSTs' social-emotional competence by examining their emotional intelligence (EI). Teachers with higher EI are more likely to recognize the emotional and behavioral cues of students (Poulou, 2016a), and deliver positive support to them, which greatly impacts students’ learning and achievement (Taylor et al., 2017). Another variable we examine is teaching self-efficacy, which plays an important role in teacher effectiveness and student academic outcomes (Bray-Clark & Bates, 2003). Finally, we examine PSTs’ cultural competence via their cultural intelligence and beliefs around culturally responsive teaching (CRT). Teaching SEL to students of color, teachers need to be culturally intelligent to acquire cultural information of students. And instruction can be more meaningful and personally appealing when utilizing the cultural heritages, lived experiences, and frames of references of students. No studies to date have examined the relationships between PSTs competencies in these areas.

Objectives. The current study examines the influence of PSTs’ emotional and cultural competencies on their self-efficacy in implementing SEL instruction. We hypothesize that higher scores on these competencies will relate to greater self-efficacy. We also examine the influence of emotional and cultural competencies on teachers’ beliefs that using CRT will lead to more positive classroom and student outcomes. We hypothesize that both competencies will positively relate to outcome expectancy beliefs.

Methods. 45 early childhood PSTs in a mid-Atlantic state were recruited. They completed an online survey of their demographics, emotional and cultural intelligence, SEL self-efficacy, and CRT outcome expectancy.

Analytic plan. To address our research questions, a path analysis will be conducted using maximum likelihood estimation. We will test the effects of EI and CQ on both SEL beliefs and teaching outcome expectancies simultaneously in a saturated path model with zero degrees of freedom. Both EI and CQ will be allowed to covary, as will the residual variances of the outcomes, SEL beliefs and CRT outcome expectancies. All data for this analysis has already been collected and cleaned. The anticipated time for this analysis is 15 days and so we feel confident that we will have the results and final write-up prepared before the conference.

Implications. This study fills a gap in literature that examines PSTs’ emotional and cultural intelligence. Specifically, findings can potentially offer valuable information on how emotional and cultural competencies contributed to PSTs’ self-efficacy and cultural awareness in SEL teaching practices, and further inform teacher preparation programs on culturally responsive SEL instruction.

Group Authors

Not applicable.

Authors

• Yu Xia, University of Delaware
  Presenting Author

• Tia Barnes, University of Delaware
  Non-Presenting Author

• Melissa Stoffers, University of Delaware
  Non-Presenting Author