DIFFERENCES BETWEEN CHILDREN'S SELF-PERCEIVED AND TEACHER RATINGS IN TRAIT EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND ANXIETY: IS THERE A RELATIONSHIP WITH SCHOLASTIC RESULTS IN PRIMARY SCHOOL CHILDREN?

Abstract

The construct of Emotional Intelligence (EI) has been studied as a potential predictor of psychological wellbeing and social interaction during childhood. Among the different possible EI formulations, some studies about Trait EI during development have also focused on its relationship with academic performance. One main limitation pertains the self-report nature of trait EI assessment tools. The use of cross-informant ratings has become an important aspect of research and clinical practice for those working with children and adolescents because potentially resulting in a less biased approach in the evaluation process. The present study is a cross informant design which involved 150 children aged 8-10 years from several primary schools located in Sicily and their prevalent teachers. The aim of this study is to explore the differences between children TEI and anxiety self-perception and teachers’ ratings of these very variables. This will serve to investigate if/how teacher perspective can be influenced by children’s scholastic achievements. The hypotheses that guide this study are: Teacher’s TEI ratings will be higher than children TEI self-perceptions; Teachers ratings of children’s anxiety levels will be lower compared to children self-report scores; Children academic performance will be more strongly and positively related to teacher’s ratings in TEI than children’s self-reported scores. The TEIQue-CSF and the TEIQue 360° SF was used to measure TEI children self-reported scores and teacher’s ratings of children TEI levels respectively. The Anxiety Scale Questionnaire for Children and the respective version for teachers was used to assess self-reported and teacher rated anxious symptoms. Academic performance was measured through children’s final school grades and school conduct. Data collection is still ongoing and it will end in May 2022. Preliminary data analysis showed that there is a significant and negative relationship between scholastic anxiety and academic results (p<.01). More specific data about the comparison between self and teacher ratings will be presented during the congress. It is expected that Teachers could tend to focus on learning aspects and external behavior, thus overestimating emotional for children who have better scholastic results, when evident problematic behaviors are absent.