5 Benefits of teaching emotional intelligence to students

The focus of education in contemporary times is on holistic development. Teachers and parents want that children should be accomplished in all imperative verticals of learning. Given the dynamic nature of the ways of the world, these verticals will keep evolving. In present times, emotional intelligence is gaining a lot of traction as a learning prerequisite. In fact, emotional intelligence is a skill that has become essential for advancement and growth. It is a trait that can add immense value to the pursuits of people of all ages.

Moving forward, as EQ or emotional intelligence gains more popularity, its relevance in the classroom is also increasing. If a skill can change people’s fortunes for the better, it is best to learn it at a young age. Hence, the case for the integration of emotional intelligence in school education is strong enough. To make learning more wholesome and productive, EQ should be blended with classroom learning. To substantiate, this blog sheds light on the various merits of teaching EQ in the classroom. However, before that, let us glance at the definition of EQ to be on the same page.

What is emotional intelligence?

Let us not complicate the meaning of EQ with an overwhelming definition. In simplest terms, EQ can be defined as a person’s ability to understand and manage emotions in a positive way. Moreover, with EQ, people can channel their emotions to relieve stress and making responsible decisions. A person with high EQ will be able to control the influence of emotions in decision-making. Such people exhibit a knack for embracing challenges, and they can conveniently diffuse conflicts. Besides, emotional intelligence is a skill set that comprises the following components.

Components of emotional intelligence

• Self-awareness
• Self-regulation
• Motivation
• Empathy
• Social Skills

As an educator, you would want your students to have all the above characteristics. You understand best how these traits can complement academic achievements. You also know that these skills will shape much brighter futures for your students, who will make you proud. Let us delve deeper to understand the crucial merits of teaching EQ to students. After understanding the significance of EQ, you can work around various tips to develop EQ skills in children.  So, let us get going with much ado!

Fascinating Benefits of teaching EQ in the classroom

1. Greater academic performance

Academic performance and achievement are primary concerns for students, teachers, and parents. The intrinsic goal of education is to add to academic excellence that is often visible in an individual’s academic success. In multifarious ways, emotional intelligence contributes to the quest for great academic performances. With EQ, students can differentiate better between right and wrong.

Besides, given the sense of self-awareness linked to EQ, students will know better what is in the best of their academic interests and what is not. Moreover, with the various skills they gain through EQ, their confidence and morale will get a boost. They will understand that the goal of education is to pursue excellence and not mere grades. Also, with EQ, students will develop better coping mechanisms for academic stress. They would know how to manage academic stress and rather be more enthusiastic about learning.

With these realizations, they will be able to steer their focus and energy in the right direction. Emotional intelligence will also teach them how they can learn from each other. Moreover, a classroom centered around EQ will be conducive, high-performing, and will drive curiosity for learning.

EQ gives you a better chance at classroom management and student engagement. You can use this positive development to your advantage and inspire students to upscale their learning potentials. In this pursuit, the various skills that students learn through EQ will have their own significance. The innumerable merits of learning EQ will hence drive exemplary academic performances. EQ will tick most boxes right when it comes to the essentials of a high-performing classroom.

2. Enhanced learning motivation

Motivation is an intrinsic component of emotional intelligence, as stated above. Learning is a continuous endeavor, and students need incessant motivation to perform well. Students often struggle with the self-motivation that they would like to have in their academic pursuits. Even as a teacher, you tend to face challenges in motivating and engaging students. You can help them have a better command of their motivational levels by teaching EQ to them. As per Forbes, more than 40 percent of high school students are chronically disengaged from academics. EQ can be a great way for students to manage their motivation better. Moreover, students will also be able to self-regulate themselves in a better way.

Moving further, learning EQ will also enable students to control emotions that affect their motivation. Stress and negative emotions can often be hindrances to an individual’s motivation. EQ will enable students to look beyond the struggles and find the right motivational mix. Besides, with EQ, students will learn how to work in teams, which will add to their motivation. They will translate this empowered motivation into exemplary academic performance. Fostering motivation is and will always be one of the best active learning strategies. EQ will help you overcome the challenges of promoting motivation in the classroom. So why not leverage the charm of EQ to the fullest?

3. Greater prospects for future success

The competitiveness for securing careers will only increase in the future. It is vital that students have a knack for standing out from the rest from a young age. The more they focus on their skills, the greater will be the competitive advantage they gain. It is critical for you to know that EQ is among the most essential employability skills. By teaching EQ to your students, you can hence help them secure their futures. To substantiate, as per Cision, around 95 percent of HR managers think that it is important for employees to have EQ. To add, many employers feel that EQ is more crucial than IQ in the workplace.

Having said that, you can see how EQ adds to the future prospects of your students. It will boost their employability or professional skills based on which they will achieve career success. They can be the top executives, leaders in business organizations, and even entrepreneurs with EQ. Because everyone’s future is at stake given the massive competitiveness, EQ will give a silver lining to your students. This should be a good enough reason for you to believe in the prowess of EQ!

4. Improved collaboration skills

In academics, as well as for career accomplishment, collaboration holds immense significance. Be it school, college, or at the office, individuals have to collaborate on various instances to achieve common objectives. For teaching collaboration to students, training them for EQ can be the most successful methodology. When students learn EQ, they develop relationship skills, effective communication skills, empathy, and acceptance of others’ perspectives.

All these verticals of learning together build a collaboration of the highest order.  So, be it a group project at the school or working in a team in the corporate world, EQ will pay off at all times. To add, emotional intelligence also inculcates social skills, which add more value to collaboration. The common social skills include the following.

• Listening
• Mannerisms
• Respect for personal space
• Sharing
• Cooperation
• Following directions
• Positive conversations
• Eye contact
• Open-ended questions

Moving forward, as stated above, EQ plays a crucial role in building empathy. When people have empathy, they understand, value, and respect others’ emotions. It is imperative that students learn empathy from a young age to build a more empathetic world. When people collaborate and work in teams, it is an added advantage if they value each other’s emotions. Empathy mitigates the possibilities of discrimination, bullying, conflicts, and misunderstandings among team members.

Having said that, the sooner children learn empathy, the more beneficial it will be for them. Empathy also ensures that individuals learn to adjust and cooperate within diverse communities. By all means, emotional intelligence is an essential prerequisite of effective collaboration.

5. Constructive self-awareness

Self-awareness is a pivotal prerequisite for responsible decision-making. All of us make crucial decisions almost every day. Some of these decisions go right, while others translate into regrets we would like to forget. But we can improve our decision-making skills a great deal with self-awareness. When students learn self-awareness at a young age, they will make informed decisions and choices.

With self-awareness, they will realize their strengths and weaknesses. Besides, self-awareness will help them understand the impact of their emotions on their decisions. As a consequence, they will be able to negate emotional decisions and make more pragmatic choices.

Even in the academic context, self-awareness will facilitate better results. They will be aware of the areas of improvement they need to work on. They will also be able to identify their positive emotions and feel more relaxed. Moreover, they will be able to align their actions with their objectives in an effective way.

This is because they will be aware of what it takes to convert ambitions into achievements. The enhanced sense of self-awareness will help them to understand themselves in a better way. In the ultimate sense, self-awareness will benefit them in multifaceted ways.

To encapsulate, emotional intelligence is a skill for the future. No matter what your students want to become in their lives, EQ will help them achieve greater success. Every teacher wants their students to emerge as leaders in their fields that set examples for others.

By training them for emotional intelligence, you can incorporate leadership skills into their personalities. From a young age, they will know what it takes to become an empathetic and effective leader. Besides, they will become better human beings and will learn a host of other skills as well. EQ is a competitive advantage that every teacher would like their students to have.

We cannot predict the future, but we can predict that EQ is a skill that will become indispensable in the times to come. So, schools will be the best institutions for individuals to embark on the journey of mastering this vital skill.