Emotional Intelligence And Adolescents’ Behaviour Problems

Project and Seminar Material for Guidance and Counselling

Abstract

This study investigated the emotional intelligence and adolescents’ behaviour problems among senior secondary school students in Kosofe L.G.A, Lagos state, Nigeria. This study employed a quasi-experimental, non-equivalent control group, pre-test – post-test design. The population of this study was 73,651 secondary school students out of which120 students were purposively sampled and used for the study. The instrument used for data collection was, Adolescents’ behaviour problems Scales (ASES).Data were analysed using mean, standard deviation and t-test. The findings reveals that Emotional intelligence skills training had effect on Academic self-efficacy of the respondents in favour of the experimental group (t=24.618, P=.000); Emotional intelligence skills’ training was effective in improving academic self efficacy of secondary school students as can be observed in the difference between Pre-test and Post-test (t=37.946, P=.000). The difference is in favour of Post-test; And There was no gender difference in the effect of emotional intelligence skills training on academic self efficacy of respondents; hence the training had similar effect for both male and female (t=1.114, P=.270). It was recommended that School Principals, counsellors, Psychologist and Subject teachers should be exposed to Emotional intelligence skills (emotional self awareness, self-management, social-awareness and relationship management) in readdressing students with academic problems.

Chapter One

Introduction

1.1 Background To The Study

Literature suggest that emotional intelligence plays a key role in determining success in life and it becomes more and more important as people progress up the career ladder and academic success. (kolb& Hanley-Maxwell, 2003; Richburg & Fletcher, 2002). Goleman (1995) argues that emotional intelligence, social intelligence and luck also play a big role in a person’s success. While IQ gets hired, emotional, EQ gets you promoted. Research has shown that, what separates successful people from less successful counterparts is not necessarily IQ but rather EQ, with key skills to success more likely to found in the latter rather than the former. For instance, Snary and Vaillant, (1985) underline the limitation of IQ in prediction one’s success at work and life in general over forty years longitudinal investigation with 450 boys in Massachusetts, USA. They found that the strongest predictors of success were characteristics such as being able to handle frustration, control emotions and get along with other people. There results show that paying constant attention to the course of own moods and emotions is not always productive for the individual. This is particularly so when attention to feelings is not followed by sufficient capacity to understand their causes, motives, and consequences, or to repair them (Salguero, palomera, & Fernandez-Berrocol, 2011). Individual who attend to their emotions excessively without adequate clarity of the emotional state could develop an emotional spiral that would generate a ruminative and self focused process that may rather than relieve their negative mood that result to low academic self-efficacy and provoke academic difficulties or failure. The role of self-efficacy in the cognitive functioning of students becomes even more important in an information rich world where individual needs to become empowered for lifelong learning. Claims for the primacy of self-efficacy have been supported by a host of research. In particular, meta-analyses of research on self-efficacy serve to underline its influence. Meta-analyses use statistical measures and strict criteria of validity and reliability to synthesise a number of studies into one overall set of findings, and are therefore an excellent gauge of the state of knowledge in a field at a given time. In 1991, a meta-analysis of 39 studies between 1977 and 1988 found that higher self-efficacy can lead to higher academic performance and persistence (Multon, Brown, & Lent, 1991).

Goleman (1995) outlines four main emotional intelligence constructs. That is: self awareness is the ability to read one’s emotions and recognize their impact while using gut feelings to guide decisions; Self-management which involves controlling one’s emotions and impulses and adapting to changing circumstances; social awareness which includes the ability to sense, understand, and react to other’s emotions while comprehending social networks; and relationship management which entails the ability to inspire, influence, and develop others while managing conflict.

1.2 Statement of the Problem

Presently, information technology has made the world a global village where traditional or conventional ways of living are in transitional phase. Due to urbanization and liberalization, adolescents are in a dilemma where they find themselves unfit and unfilled. Rapid changes in family life, pressures of peers and society, present day life style and academic challenges among others are the factors that lead to increase in competition, stress and anxiety among secondary school students. Generally secondary school students are thus not able to cope with the humiliation and negative emotions in their academic lives. When an individual is in the wave of positive or negative emotions, his behaviour is totally controlled and directed by that emotion. Engaging Secondary School Students emotionally is the key to strengthening their dispositions toward critical thinking which in turn leads to a rational and reasonable emotional life, the link between thinking and emotions is essential in academic achievement.

Substantial amount of research has established the connection of self-efficacy to academic achievement and the research consistently demonstrated that academic self-efficacy enhances secondary school students’ performance and academic success. Psychological and affective state sometimes produces profound feelings of disappointment, frustration and selfworthlessness. Which in fact reinforce emotional problems that provoke low academic selfefficacy which leads to academic difficulty and academic failure;since it has to do with emotions, emotional intelligence skills training might minimize such negative feelings and bust the academic self-efficacy of secondary school students, which eventually pave a way to academic success.Therefore, the problem of this research was to investigate the effects of Emotional Intelligence skills Training on Academic Self-Efficacy among secondary school students in Kosofe L.G.A, Lagos State, Nigeria.

1.3 Objectives of the Study

The objectives of the study are to:

Find out the differences between post-test scores on Adolescents’ behaviour problems of Secondary School Students exposed to Emotional Intelligence skills training and those in control group.
Find out the differences between pre-test and post-testscoreson Adolescents’ behaviour problems of Secondary School Students exposed to Emotional Intelligence skills training.
Determine the differences in Adolescents’ behaviour problems scores of male and female students exposed treatment.

1.4 Research Questions

The following research questions guided the study:

What are the differences between post-test mean scores on Adolescents’ behaviour problems of secondary school students exposed to Emotional Intelligence skills training and those in control group
What are the differences between pre-test and post-test scores on Adolescents’ behaviour problems of secondary school students exposed to Emotional Intelligence skills training?
What are the differences in Adolescents’ behaviour problems scores of male and female students exposed to treatment?

1.5 Hypotheses

The following null hypotheses guided the study:

There is no significant difference in the post-test scores on Adolescents’ behaviour problems of secondary school students exposed to Emotional Intelligence skills training and those in control group.
There is no significant difference between pre-test and post-test scores on Academic Self
Efficacy of secondary school students exposed to Emotional Intelligence skills training.
There is no significant difference in Adolescents’ behaviour problems scores of male and female students exposed treatment.

1.6 Basic Assumptions

For the purpose of this study the following assumptions were made:

Training in emotional intelligence skills (self-awareness, self-management, social awareness and Relationship management)can improve academic self-efficacy of secondary school students.
Training in emotional intelligence skills may increase academic self-efficacy among male and female students in the treatment group.

1.7 Significance of the Study

The findings of this study will add to theory building on emotional intelligence and academic self-efficacy. The findings will further provide an insight into the feelings of the people. It is also essential tools for self-insight and self-control (the ability to recognise and regulate ones’ moods).It helps the students with the ability to cope with stress, depression and aggressive behaviours. The findings will also help the society in determining outcome of the individuals to adjust and adapt to environmental circumstances that disturbed them. The findings will help educators and curriculum planners, on the new skills such as emotional self- awareness, self- management, and social-awareness and relationship management when fully utilised and inculcated into the curriculum in order to ascertain the objective of nation educational systems.

Furthermore, the findings of this study through its emotional intelligence skills will aid school achievement in term of better handling of mutual relationship and perceived feelings both in one-self and others. Finally, the findings of this study will serve as a missing link for future researchers on emotional intelligence and academic self-efficacy of the students.

1.8 Scope and Delimitation of the Study

The scope of this study was to examine the effects of Emotional Intelligence skills Training on Adolescents’ behaviour problems covering Secondary School Students in Kosofe L.G.A, Lagos State, Nigeria.
The study is limited to Secondary School Students (SS II) only. These are considered as the most important emotional intelligence skills that Secondary School Students would need to learn in order to enhance their adolescents’ behaviour problems.

Chapter Five

Summary, Conclusions And Recommendations

5.1 Summary

The purpose of this study was to investigate the emotional intelligence and adolescents’ behaviour problems among senior secondary school students. The research was carried out based on three objectives, three research questions, and three hypotheses in chapter one, which were answered and tested accordingly. In chapter two the concept of emotional intelligence and Academic self-efficacy were discussed. Theoretical framework and literature related to the topic were well reviewed. However, chapter three described the type of research design which is Quasi-experimental pre-test, post-test control group design. The population of this study was 73,651 secondary school students whereas 120 students were purposively sampled and used for the study. The instrument used for data collection was, Adolescents’ behaviour problems Scales (ASES). Data were analysed using mean, standard deviation and T-test. The findings reveals that Emotional intelligence skills training had effect on Academic self-efficacy of the respondents in favour of the experimental group(t=24.618, P=.0001); Emotional intelligence skills’ training was effective in improving academic self-efficacy of secondary school students as can be observed in the difference between Pre-test and Post-test (t= 37.946, P= .000). The difference is in favour of Posttest; And There was no gender difference in the effect of emotional intelligence skills training on academic self-efficacy of respondents; hence the training had similar effect for both male and female (t=1.114, P=.270). It was recommended that School Principals, counsellors, Psychologist and Subject teachers should be exposed to Emotional intelligence skills (emotional self-awareness, self-management, social-awareness and relationship management) in re-addressing students with academic problems.

5.2 Conclusions

Emotional intelligence skills training was found to be effective technique that can be used by teachers, counsellors, curriculum planners and parents to improve the academic self efficacy among students irrespective of their gender. Difference between experimental group and the control group was noticed due to treatment. Emotional intelligence skills training was found to be effective in increasing academic self-efficacy among secondary school students.

5.3 Recommendations

From the findings and conclusion of this study, the following recommendations are hereby made:

School Principals, counsellors, Psychologist and Subject teachers should be exposed to Emotional intelligence skills (emotional self-awareness, self- management, social awareness and relationship management) in re-addressing students with academic problems.
Emotional intelligence training should be inculcated into the school curriculum so as to develop in students competent or efficacy in their academic endeavour.
Seminars, workshops and symposium should be organised to train teachers on emotional intelligence skills to solve students’ academic problems in schools.

5.4 Suggestion for Further Research

In light of this study the following suggestions were made:

This study was carried out in public schools in Kosofe L.G.A, Lagos State. It is recommended that a similar study should be carried out in other states to whether same result will be obtained so that generalization could be made about the findings in all secondary schools in Nigeria.
Future research should also investigate the effects of Emotional Intelligence on academic self-efficacy across the academic years.
This study was conducted upon secondary school Students with low academic self efficacy. Similar studies can be conducted upon Primary School Pupils, University Undergraduate Students and Teachers.
The results of this study are inconclusive regarding possible effects of emotional intelligence training on academic self-efficacy. Those who choose to further explore the possible interactions between emotional intelligence and academic self-efficacy, status should be advised to select different measures than those chosen for this study. It would also be advisable to select a larger and more diverse sample.

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