- Title
- Teachers' emotional intelligence as a predisposition for discrimiation against students with severe emotional and behavioural disorders
- Creator
- Metaxas, Melinda
- Date
- 2018
- Type
- Text; Thesis; PhD
- Identifier
- http://researchonline.federation.edu.au/vital/access/HandleResolver/1959.17/165597
- Identifier
- vital:13312
- Identifier
- https://library.federation.edu.au/record=b2787395
- Abstract
- Students with Emotional Behavioural Disorders (EBD) are among the most challenging students to teach. Personality Trait Theory predicts teachers’ level of Emotional Intelligence (EI) would affect their cognitive-affective-behavioural reactions towards students with EBDs, and influence level of academic achievement and difficult behaviour of these students. This research explores which teachers are more predisposed to discriminate against EBD students, and identifies the most ‘effective’, supportive EI teacher traits. Underlying psychological processes, such as genetic EI make-up of teachers, may prove to be most valuable in determining whether more practical strategies for dealing with students’ behaviour/emotions are effectively applied and successful. An Attribution Model framework helped assess teacher reactions towards students. Two hundred and sixty one teachers from 51 Victorian schools participated in the study by completing self-report questionnaires, including the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire. A quantitative survey methodology used vignettes, with each school contact person randomly giving 50/50 surveys to their teachers (depicting a student with either mild or severe EBD symptoms). Pathway analysis revealed that teachers with higher EI reported less stigmatising and punitive intentions and likely greater helping behaviours. A new EI Process Model of Stigmatisation was proposed to measure teacher reactions through an affective-cognitive-behavioural sequence, rather than a cognitive-affective-behavioural sequence. Teachers’ EI levels also related to their own levels of psychological distress and/or compassion stress, which influenced likely helping or punitive outcomes. Despite behavioural severity of EBD students, teachers higher in EI still indicate more supportive helping behaviours. Specifically-identified ‘ideal’ teacher EI traits should lead to greater helping and be psychologically beneficial to both students and teachers. These results assisted development of an assessment tool (ASET – Assessment Screen for Emotionally Intelligent Teachers), which lays a sound foundation for schools and others to profile or recruit teachers with best ‘qualities’ to effectively teach students EBD students.; Doctor of Philosophy
- Publisher
- Federation University Australia
- Rights
- Copyright Melinda Metaxas
- Rights
- Open Access
- Rights
- This metadata is freely available under a CCO license
- Subject
- Emotional Behavioural Disorders (EBD); Personality trait theory; Emotional intelligence; Discrimination
- Full Text
- Thesis Supervisor
- Fisher, John
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|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| View Details Download | SOURCE1 | Australian Digital Thesis | 6 MB | Adobe Acrobat PDF | View Details Download |