8

This chapter discusses the importance of emotional intelligence and

presents a case for including emotional intelligence in positive
education.

Emotional Intelligence and Positive

Education: Preparing Students for a Better
Tomorrow
Pooja V. Anand

Traditionally, the discipline of Psychology has taken an illness or deficit

oriented approach as a result of which it has focused more on weaknesses
and finding solutions to get rid of them. This approach is inadequate as it
addresses only a part of the issue of human nature. The emerging approach
of positive psychology in contrast takes a positive view of human nature. It
focuses on the strengths in people. The beginning of the positive psychology
movement can be traced to the APA Presidential address by Seligman in
1998. Snyder and Lopez (2007) defined positive psychology as “the science
and applications related to the study of psychological strengths and positive
emotions” (p. 22).
Positive psychology aims at enhancing optimal functioning in indi-
viduals, groups, and communities through the effective utilization of
strengths. Seligman and Peterson (2004) developed the VIA classification of
strengths which provides a comprehensive classification of human virtues
and strengths. In the VIA classification, twenty-four strengths have been
classified under six virtues. The virtue of Wisdom and Knowledge entails
the strengths of Creativity, Curiosity, Open-mindedness, Love of learning,
and Perspective; the virtue of Courage includes strengths of Integrity, Brav-
ery, Persistence, and Vitality; Humanity comprises Kindness, Love, and
Social intelligence; Citizenship, Fairness, and Leadership are subsumed
under the virtue of Justice; Temperance contains the strengths of Forgive-
ness, Modesty, Prudence, and Self-regulation; and the virtue of Transcen-
dence includes Appreciation of beauty and excellence, Gratitude, Hope,
Humor, and Spirituality.
The approach of positive psychology has found applications in vari-
ous domains like health, community, work, etc. One of the most significant

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Published online in Wiley Online Library (wileyonlinelibrary.com) • DOI: 10.1002/tl.20368 107
108 SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

areas where positive psychology has found tremendous application is the

area of education. It is of utmost importance that education be understood
and imparted in a positive way. It is imperative to broaden the scope of
teaching and learning to include positive aspects.

Positive Education
Whereas we value kindness, health, satisfaction, happiness, and well-being
for our children, education in the traditional sense focuses almost exclu-
sively on achievement, success, and literacy (Seligman et al. 2009). The
aim of the traditional paradigm of education is to impart knowledge to the
students with the main aim of performing well in their exams. It is not as
if this is not important, but what is wrong is the sole emphasis on these
aspects with total disregard of the skills and strengths that contribute to a
happy and meaningful life. There is a growing awareness that this paradigm
is incomplete as it does not take into account other key skills which are
crucial for having a meaningful and satisfying life as a teacher or a student.
In today’s world, young adults are faced with numerous challenges.
Hence, they need to be equipped with important life skills as optimism,
hope, resilience, grit, and emotional intelligence to deal with these chal-
lenges. Positive education is defined as education for both traditional skills
and for happiness (Seligman et al. 2009). Positive education involves both
acquiring technical skills related to one’s discipline of study as well as cru-
cial skills like hope, optimism, resilience, etc. Positive education describes
scientifically validated programs from positive psychology that have an
impact on student well-being (White and Murray 2015).
According to McGrath (2009), positive education emerged from vari-
ous programs for instance those which focused on self-esteem, social skills,
and resilience. Since that time positive education has become a focus for
various student well-being initiatives, as well as social and emotional learn-
ing programs.
The recognition of the importance of positive education stems from
the rising statistics of psychological distress and mental illness in students.
Hence, we need to take a more proactive rather than reactive approach to
mental health in children and adolescents. It is now the responsibility of
educational institutions to create awareness among their students about the
importance of well-being. They also need to implement interventions for
enhancing the optimal functioning of their students and teachers.

Benefits of Positive Education

Positive education has benefits for all stakeholders in any educational sys-
tem. When teachers receive training in positive education, they are better
equipped with crucial life skills which go a long way in enhancing their
teaching and personality. Positive changes in the teachers have spill-over

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 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND POSITIVE EDUCATION 109

effects on the students as they acquire key skills to enhance their knowl-
edge related to their subject. Being equipped with various key skills they
are better skilled to deal with life challenges and instill the same skills in
their students.

Emotional Intelligence
Emotional intelligence has become a very popular topic in today’s world.
Many articles and books have been published on emotional intelligence.
Not only academia but the lay public too has found this construct to be
very interesting and useful. Many schools and business organizations began
training programs that focus on developing emotional skills. Emotional
intelligence has been found to be of great value in various areas of psychol-
ogy as industrial and organizational psychology, developmental, clinical,
counseling, and social psychology, and many others.
Emotional intelligence, also referred to as EQ, involves various intrap-
ersonal and interpersonal competencies for self-awareness, self-regulation,
empathy, and interpersonal skills. There are three basic models of emo-
tional intelligence. Salovey and Mayer’s (1990), Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso’s
(2000) model, known as the ability model of emotional intelligence,
whereas Bar-On’s model, focuses on emotional social intelligence. How-
ever, Goleman’s model embodies the competency model of emotional intel-
ligence.

The 3S Model of Emotional Intelligence

Emotional intelligence has been understood in different ways by various
researchers. While some consider it as ability, some consider it a trait, the
others look at it as a competency. In the author’s view, emotional intelli-
gence is a competency (Anand 2017). This is in view of the fact that var-
ious researches have shown that emotional intelligence can be developed
through training. Emotional intelligence has been defined by the author in
the following way:

Emotional intelligence involves competencies related to understanding and

manging one’s own emotions, understanding others’ emotions, developing
and maintaining satisfying relationships with others and channelling one’s
emotional energy to create a positive self (Anand 2017)

Emotional intelligence, according to the 3S model, can be broadly

divided into three broad domains: self-competence, social competence, and
self-positive.
Self-competence encompasses the competencies regarding one’s own
emotional self. This domain consists of two components: emotional
self-awareness, and emotional self-management. Emotional self-awareness

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110 SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

Figure 8.1. 3S Model of emotional intelligence

Source: Anand (2017).

refers to being aware of one’s emotions as well as accurate self-assessment.

Emotional self-management involves competencies related to managing
one’s emotions. It also requires not letting disruptive emotions and impulses
take over, and managing impulses and distressing emotions.
Self-positive is the epitome of emotional intelligence. “Self-positive” is
named so since it deals with what one can develop in oneself, over and above
self-competence and social competence. Self-positive involves the compe-
tencies of authenticity, positive emotional balance, emotional resilience,
self-compassion, self-confidence, and self-motivation.

Emotional Intelligence and Positive Psychology

According to Seligman (2002), the three central concerns of positive psy-
chology are: positive emotions, positive individual traits, and positive insti-
tutions. Hence, positive emotions are a core area of intersection between
positive psychology and emotional intelligence since the ability to utilize
one’s positive emotions is an important hallmark of both fields. As a result,
positive emotions have been found to lead to creativity, higher productivity,
improve health, more compassion, as well as provide buffer against stress
and depressive symptoms. Positive emotions also boost resilience and lead
to more satisfying interpersonal relationships.

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 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND POSITIVE EDUCATION 111

One of the most popular theories of positive emotions, broaden and

build theory (Frederickson 2000) focuses on the role of positive emotions
in enhancing creativity and productivity. Research has shown that the differ-
ence between those who flourish and those who do not lies in the magnitude
of experiencing positive emotions (Catalino and Frederickson 2011).

Emotional Intelligence and Positive Education

Positive education combines training in academic skills as well as those
skills that contribute to well-being. Often the nonacademic skills encom-
passed in positive education programs are resilience, optimism, hope, kind-
ness, and gratitude. Despite key evidence for its impact on well-being, emo-
tional intelligence has not found much space in research and writings on
positive education. Hence, the present chapter aims to address this gap in
research and practice and reiterate the importance of including emotional
intelligence in positive education.
Many scholars who work on positive education strongly believe that
well-being must be the foremost goal of education. According to Bar-On
(2010) a very key component of well-being is “effective emotional and
social functioning.” Hence, it is crucial that emotional intelligence forms
a core part of any positive education program. Without incorporating the
crucial skills for emotional intelligence any positive education program is
incomplete and bound to fail.
There has been an increasing interest in developing school-based pro-
grams which focus on social and emotional skills (Salovey and Sluyter
1997). Some of the skills which form the core of such programs are self-
awareness, self-regulation, managing stress, and empathy. Due to the focus
on social emotional skills in such programs, many such school-based inter-
ventions are labeled as Social and Emotional Learning (SEL) programs
(Cohen 1999; Elias et al. 1997).
One of the major issues related to such programs is that although
increasing numbers of such programs are being evaluated formally, many
still have not been evaluated empirically. Program evaluation is quite impor-
tant to establish the efficacy of the program and hence must be undertaken
in a scientific way.
Another issue which demands attention is that most programs on emo-
tional intelligence are conducted in schools but there are very few or no
such programs in higher educational institutions in most parts of the world.
Therefore, it is important that college and university students are also taught
these crucial skills as adolescence and late adolescence are challenging
stages of life characterized by various challenges and stresses.
Hence, emotional education must be a core area of intervention
in schools, colleges, and universities. Emotional education should be
approached in a very comprehensive way. Training only the students is only
part of the picture. The best results will ensue only when teachers who

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112 SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

are the other important stakeholder in the educational system are provided
training in emotional skills. It is very important for young people to develop
these competencies. Education must not only aim at getting employment
but also the total personality development of the individual.
Thus, in the contemporary world, emotional intelligence presents a
positive model for self-growth and development as it has implications
for enhancing academic achievement, better physical and mental health,
and for developing satisfying relationships. Emotional intelligence involves
various psychological mechanisms by which individuals flourish in their
lives because human society focuses on fast pace of change with intense
competition. These can be very overwhelming for individuals and lead
to an increase in stress, anxiety, and depression. During the past few
years there has been a sharp rise in the incidents of violence, bullying
at school and workplace, drug addiction, and suicide. The most disturb-
ing fact is that a very high percentage of the offenders are below the age
of 25.
These problems are rooted in the underdevelopment of social and emo-
tional skills. These incidents clearly reveal that somewhere our educational
system and socialization have failed to develop empathy and compassion in
the young generation. Emotional intelligence assumes critical importance
in today’s world as it is facing grave challenges in the form of violence, stress,
depression, unsatisfying relationships, and unhappiness. There is an urgent
need for training in managing emotions to deal with difficult situations. In
our society there is a lot of emphasis on IQ and academic achievement. Our
emotional intelligence has a large impact on our success in life and therefore
it is important that we fully develop our emotional skills. In sum, effective
training in social emotional skills is extremely important.

Emotional Intelligence Can Be Learned!

Often there is a debate as to whether people are born with a certain level
of emotional intelligence or do these emotional intelligence competencies
develop throughout their life as a result of life experiences. Evidence has
been found for both.
Many studies indicate that emotional intelligence is a competency that
can be developed through training. Anand (2015) aimed to increase the
level of emotional intelligence of undergraduate students. A two group pre-
post design was used. The experimental group received training in emo-
tional intelligence for 2 weeks whereas the control group did not receive
any training. Results showed a significant increase in emotional intelligence
in the experimental as compared to the control group after training. This
showed that the training program was successful in enhancing emotional
intelligence of the experimental group.
Moreover, Schutte and Malouff (2002) provided first-year university
students training in terms of information and skills related to emotional

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 EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND POSITIVE EDUCATION 113

intelligence. At the end of the term, the group which was trained in emo-
tional intelligence scored higher on emotional intelligence and was more
likely to complete their first year of university than the control group, which
was not trained in emotional intelligence. Furthermore, Reuben, Sapienza,
and Zingales (2009) found that those students who were trained in emo-
tional abilities, through a 16-hour course, performed better on a test of
emotional intelligence than those in the placebo control group.
In their meta-analysis of over 200 SEL intervention studies, Durlak
et al. (2011) found significant mean effects for SEL interventions in
improved social emotional skills, positive social behavior, fewer conduct
problems, lesser emotional distress, and better academic performance.
A quasi-experimental pre-post study was done on two groups of first
year university students from two universities in north Jordan (Jdaitawi
et al. 2011). The experimental group received emotional intelligence
training, while the control group did not. Results showed that the training
program was effective in significantly increasing the level of emotional
intelligence. Nelis et al. (2011) found increased emotional intelligence in
participants in the emotional intelligence intervention group as compared
to the control group. Hence, review of training programs suggests that
emotional intelligence can be developed through training.

Conclusions and Implications

Despite being an extremely important construct in terms of its usefulness,
emotional intelligence has not been accorded as much importance as it
deserves. It is often viewed secondary to other constructs which are more
popular in positive psychology as hope, optimism, resilience, self-efficacy,
etc. The author opines that since emotional intelligence relates to under-
standing and managing one’s own emotions as well as relationships with
others it is fundamental to creating a positive self.
Any kind of educational program will be incomplete if it does not focus
on emotional education. Each component of emotional intelligence can
play a great role in utilizing the strengths in the individual and promote
well-being and flourishing. For both teachers and students, emotions play
a crucial role in teaching and learning. Emotions act as powerful tool to
enhance learning.
Therefore, given the importance of emotional intelligence in today’s
world, it is crucial that concrete steps are taken toward enhancing emo-
tional intelligence in individuals. Many educational institutions across the
world have started making efforts in this direction. More efforts need to be
made for incorporating emotional intelligence in the school as well as col-
lege curriculum so that children are taught right from the beginning about
the importance of understanding and managing their emotions. Awareness
programs must be organized to make everyone aware about the importance
of emotional intelligence.

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114 SOCIAL AND EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE

All stakeholders in the educational system should be trained in emo-

tional intelligence. The best way to bring about a significant change is to
start early and therefore children should be trained in emotional intelligence
from the very beginning. If this is done children will be well equipped in
understanding and managing their emotions and hence they will grow up
to be responsible citizens who not only are emotionally healthy themselves
but also contribute to the betterment of the society. This requires integrated
efforts from everyone including parents, teachers, administrators as well as
leaders.

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Dr. POOJA V. ANAND is an assistant professor at the Department of Psychology,

Daulat Ram College, University of Delhi. She has been teaching psychology for
more than 13 years at the undergraduate level. She is the founder and convenor
of India’s first Positive Psychology Center at Daulat Ram College. Her special-
izations include positive psychology and social psychology.

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