The role of trait emotional intelligence and social and emotional skills in students’ emotional and behavioural strengths and difficulties : a study of Greek adolescents’ perceptions

The emergence of the Trait Emotional Intelligence construct shifted the interest in personality research to the investigation of the effect of global personality characteristics on behaviour. A second body of research in applied settings, the Social and Emotional Learning movement, emphasized the cultivation of emotional and social skills for positive relationships in a school environment. In this paper we investigate the role of both personality traits and social and emotional skills, in the occurrence of emotional and behavioural strengths and difficulties, according to adolescent students’ self-perceptions. Five hundred and fifty-nine students from state secondary schools in Greece, aged 12-14 years old, completed The Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire-Adolescent Short Form, The Matson Evaluation of Social Skills with Youngsters, and The Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. It was found that students with higher Trait Emotional Intelligence and stronger social and emotional skills were less likely to present emotional, conduct, hyperactivity and peer difficulties and more likely to present prosocial behaviour. Gender was a significant factor for emotional difficulties and grade for peer difficulties. The paper describes the underlying mechanisms of students’ emotional and behavioural strengths and difficulties, and provides practical implications for educators to improve the quality of students’ lives in schools.peer-reviewe

Teacher-Student Relationships, Social and Emotional Skills, and Emotional and Behavioural Difficulties

In this study, the role of teacher-student relationships and students’ social and emotional skills as potential predictors of students’ emotional and behavioural difficulties was investigated by tapping into 962 primary school students’ perceptions via questionnaires. While significant correlations were found linking teachers’ interpersonal behaviour and students’ social and emotional skills to emotional and behavioural difficulties, data analysis indicated that students’ social and emotional skills were found to be more of a determinant of their behaviour than teachers’ interpersonal behaviour. Results are interpreted in relation to systems perspective and Social and Emotional Learning theory, and practical implications of the findings are discusse

EMOTION KNOWLEDGE AND SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE: A PRELIMINARY STUDY OF PRESCHOOL AND FIRST-GRADE GREEK STUDENTS

Even young children think about their own and others’ behaviors, including emotions. Such cognitions and emotions about self and others convey information that is crucial to social interactions and relationships. The present study aimed at exploring young children’s emotional knowledge processes, the role of gender in these processes, and their association with teacherreported early school adjustment. It also aimed at testing the validity of a model of emotional knowledge in the Greek context. Two-hundred and fifty-two preschool and first grade primary school students were interviewed with the Affect Knowledge Test (AKT). Preschool and first grade primary teachers rated children’s early school adjustment with the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation (SCBE-30). The results highlighted the association of children’s emotion knowledge with school adjustment. A theoretical model of emotion knowledge for preschool and early primary education students is proposed

Students’ emotional and behavioral difficulties : the role of teachers’ social and emotional learning and teacher-student relationships

This study investigates how teachers‟ perceptions of Emotional Intelligence (EI), Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) skills, and teacher-student relationships relate to students‟ emotional and behavioral difficulties. We examined teachers and students‟ perceptions of students‟ emotional and behavioral difficulties and the degree of agreement between them. Ninety-eight elementary teachers from state schools in central Greece completed the Self-Rated Emotional Intelligence Scale (SREIS), the Teacher SEL Beliefs Scale, the Student-Teacher Relationships Scale - Short Form (STRS-SF), and the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ, teacher version) for 617 students, aged between 6 and 11 years. Three hundred and eight 11 year old students completed the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ, student version). Regression analysis revealed that teachers‟ perceptions of EI and SEL skills were not related to students‟ emotional and behavioral difficulties, while teacher-student conflictual relationships were mainly linked to these difficulties. This finding was common both to teachers and students‟ perceptions. We found low agreement between teachers and students‟ perceptions of these difficulties. We discuss these findings and their implications for research and practice.peer-reviewe

Prospective teachers' perceptions of the school psychologist's role

Acknowledging the importance of teachers’ implicit theories for the determination of school psychologist’s role, this study aims to elicit prospective teachers’ personal theories for the role of school psychologist. By using metaphoric pictures, 59 pre-service teachers described their perceptions of the school psychologist’s role in relation to other members of the school community, the expectations of both teachers and the school psychologist in relation to the role of the school psychologist, the variability of conditions in which the school psychologist’s role is undertaken as well as their feelings about the school psychologist’s role. Content analysis of data indicated that prospective teachers perceived the school psychologist’s role as being carried out within the school setting and as being prominent in relation to the teachers’ role. The school psychologist aims to help students and teachers to achieve their goals, while teachers perceive the school psychologist as a consultant. The school psychologist’s task is undertaken under continually changing conditions, depending mainly on the variability of people’s needs. Finally, prospective teachers described a variety of emotional responses in relation to the school psychologist’s role. These findings are discussed in terms of the expansion of the school psychologist’s role, teachers’ professional identity and the training programmes of both school psychologists and teachers.peer-reviewe

Reflecting upon the Greek state-school teacher’s changing role in the 21st century: an ‘ecosystemic’ approach

AbstractIn the 21st-century globalized context, education systems world-wide are challenged to respond to increasingly rapid and often unpredictable demands of the globalized society in an interdependent way towards achieving common education goals on a transnational level. In this globalized space, the Greek state-school teacher’s role evolves and changes towards thinking and acting both locally and globally, as an active participant of the global ‘ecosystem’. The purpose of this article is to reflect upon the Greek state-school teacher’s changing role in the 21st century taking into consideration the global educational context in conjunction with the changing state-school context in Greece as well as the characteristics, challenges and changes of the teacher’s role internationally identified, both conceptual and practical, through an ‘ecosystemic’ approach

PRESCHOOL TEACHERS' PERCEPTIONS OF THEIR ROLE IN RELATION TO THEIR STUDENTS

This article examines the perceptions of preschool teachers in reference to their role regarding their students. According to literature, the social contexts present in the school unit (Ahonen, Pyhältö, Pietarinen, & Soini, 2014; Avgitidou, & Gourgiotou, 2016; Matsagouras, & Poulou, 2009), with which teachers interact, influence the formation of their perceptions of their role (Ahonen et al., 2014; Broeder, & Stokmans, 2012; Burke, 1997; Konstantinou, 2015; Samuel, & Stephens, 2000). The qualitative method was followed for the design of the research tool and its analysis. The study involved 47 preschool teachers serving in public kindergartens in Western Greece. Preschool teachers' perceptions of their role in relation to children were derived using an open-ended questionnaire, in which they were asked to report some metaphors or metaphorical images descriptive of their role. The NVivo-8 qualitative analysis software was utilized for data analysis. The results of the study revealed six main categories regarding the perceptions of preschool teachers about their role in relation to students.  Article visualizations

Η χρήση ζώων στην τριτοβάθμια εκπαίδευση: εναλλακτικές μέθοδοι και απόψεις πτυχιούχων και καθηγητών

Η παρούσα εργασία αναφέρεται στη χρήση των ζώων στην τριτοβάθμιαεκπαίδευση. Στην σύγχρονη ηθική της καλής διαβίωσης των ζώων τίθεται το ζήτημα της πρόκλησης πιθανού πόνου και ταλαιπωρίας των ζώων που χρησιμοποιούνται για εκπαιδευτικούς σκοπούς έναντι του οφέλους κατάρτισης για τους εκπαιδευόμενους. Σκοπός της εργασίας είναι να αποτυπωθεί η ύπαρξη εναλλακτικών μεθόδων στην βιοϊατρική εκπαίδευση χωρίς τη χρήση ζώων και να καταγραφεί η εμπειρία πτυχιούχωνφοιτητών και καθηγητών στην Ελλάδα. Η εργασία συνιστά μία ποιοτική έρευνα και αποτελείται από τρία βασικά μέρη. Από τη βιβλιογραφική ανασκόπηση όπου αποσαφηνίζονται οι βασικοί όροι και παρατίθενται οι διαθέσιμες εναλλακτικές μέθοδοι, το ερευνητικό μέρος μέσω ημιδομημένων συνεντεύξεων σε πτυχιούχους και καθηγητές που έκαναν χρήση ζώων κατά την εκπαιδευτική διαδικασία και τα συμπεράσματα που προκύπτουν από την αναζήτηση μας.The present thesis refers tothe use of animals in higher education. In the modern ethics of animal welfare, the question that arises is balancing the possible pain and suffering caused to animals used for educational purposes with the benefit of training acquisition. The purpose of this study is the reporting of alternatives methods available for biomedical education and the observation ofgraduated students’ and professors’experience when using animals in Greece. The work is a qualitative research and consists of three main parts: theliteraturereview, wherethebasictermsareclarifiedandthe available alternative methods are presented;the core research investigation through semi-structured interviews of graduates and professorsthat have used animals during the educational process; and finally the conclusions that emerge from this study