Affective and emotional experiences in arts-based service-learning environments
Rachael Jacobs
pp 4 - 20
Dewey (1938) once wrote that the most effective forms of learning connect intellectual processes with emotion, which is able to inspire curiosity and excite the learner. This paper adds to the body of research that attests to the transformative role of affect in teacher education, which is able to be cultivated through arts-based service-learning experiences. Pre-service teachers at two universities in Sydney, Australia were placed in service-learning settings that were based around participatory experiences in drama and storytelling, music, dance or visual art. The pre-service teachers’ reflections on the placement revealed a transformative experience which combined emotional learning with critical analysis of social justice issues as they relate to education. As part of their placement, they experienced arts engagement that utilised affect and emotion as a transformative pedagogy. They broadened their understanding of the role of teachers, both in an institution and in society. These emerging understandings led them to find voice as advocates, investigate arts education and community projects as alternative career paths and re-evaluate their own perceptions of quality teaching. Some participants continued engaging with the community arts projects after the placement had concluded, and others became advocates for the arts in education and society. Finally, they adopted a critical stance on social justice issues, and shed light on the ways that arts learning service-learning placements can become deeper engagements, leading to sustainable benefits for all parties.
Promoting Socio-emotional Skills in Initial Teacher Training: An Emotional Educational Programme
Susana Caires, Regina Alves, Ȃngela Martins, Patrícia Magalhães and Sabina Valente
pp 21 - 33
Developing socio-emotional skills is essential for improving university students’ quality of life and subjective well-being. These skills also play a crucial role in initial teacher education, as they are responsible for their students’ cognitive, emotional and social development. The objective of the present study is to analyse the perceived impact of an emotional education programme for teachers in training. A total of 56 student teachers, from seven different master’s degree programmes, completed a six-session programme. The evaluation was conducted through an experiential portfolio, which included the challenges and dynamics experienced in terms of emotional experience, the meaning of these experiences, and the difficulties and gains. The results revealed that, despite some difficulties, participation in the programme was considered by the participants as contributing to their emotional literacy, such as the ability to express and understand their own emotions and those of others, and to a growing sense of empathy and connectedness. This study highlights the importance of continuously investing in teachers’ socio-emotional growth and competence during their training and teaching careers.
A multi-component curriculum to promote teachers’ mental health: Findings from the PROMEHS program
Valeria Cavioni, Ilaria Grazzani, Veronica Ornaghi, Alessia Agliati, Sabina Gandellini, Carmel Cefai, Liberato Camilleri, Paul Bartolo, Sanja Tatalović Vorkapić, Lana Golob, Maria Poulou, Baiba Martinsone, Inga Supe, Celeste Simões, Paula Lebre, Adina Colomeischi, Petruta Rusu, Lidia Acostoaie, Tatiana Vintur, Elisabetta Conte
pp 34 - 52
In the last two years, a growing number of studies have focused on the promotion of students’ mental health to address the negative effects of the COVID-19 pandemic. However, less studies have been conducted on sustaining teachers’ mental health which has been affected by the sudden changes in online teaching and the difficulties in keeping and building relationship with students. Even before the pandemic, teaching has long been recognised as one of the most challenging occupations characterized by high levels of stress. Although the research highlighted the key role of mental health promotion among teachers, there is still a lack of programs enhancing teachers’ wellbeing. This study examined the impact of the PROMEHS program, a school-based curriculum, on teachers’ mental health. A total of 687 teachers participated in the study. Applying a pre- and post-training study design with experimental and waiting list groups, teachers were evaluated in social and emotional learning, resilience, and self-efficacy. The results showed that there was a significant improvement in all competences of the teachers in the experimental group compared to those in the waiting list group. The paper discusses the implications of the findings with recommendations for further studies in the area.
Antecedents of Empathic Capacity: Emotion Regulation Styles as Mediators between Controlling Versus Autonomy - Supportive Maternal Practices and Empathy
Maya Kalman-Halevi, Yaniv Kanat-Maymon and Guy Roth
pp 53 - 72
Research suggests that empathy may lead to either sympathy, involving emotional identification with another person, accompanied by caring and concern, or personal distress, that is emotional reaction to another's condition that is aversive and self-centered (Eisenberg et al., 2010). While the former frequently predicts prosocial behavior, the latter is hypothesized to predict it only when helping is the easiest way to alleviate the distress of the helper (Batson, 1991). Drawing on self-determination theory, we hypothesized that autonomy supportive parenting (taking the child’s perspective and providing choice) may predict the child’s integrative emotion regulation, and this may predict emotional identification with others in need (i.e., sympathy). In contrast, the autonomy suppressive practice of conditional regard may predict dysregulation of emotions, leading to personal distress when facing a close friend’s adversity. Participants included 147 college students and 147 close friends. Target participants reported perceptions of their mothers’ behaviour and their own emotion regulation styles, while close friends reported perceptions of target participants’ sympathy and personal distress responses. Results support the study’s hypotheses and provide insights into the socialization of emotion regulation and empathy.
Medical Students’ Empathy During the COVID-19 Pandemic: A cross-sectional study
Jean-Marc Triffaux, Serge Tisseron and Julian A. Nasello
pp 73 - 88
Several authors have underlined the negative consequences of the COVID-19 pandemic on mental health in several populations, including medical students, such as increases in anxiety, depression and burnout symptoms. Furthermore, previous studies showed that anxiety and depressive symptoms are positively associated with affective empathy and negatively associated with cognitive empathy. Given the adverse pandemic effects highlighted by several authors, the present study sought to determine whether medical students’ empathy has been potentially impacted, with higher affective empathy and lower cognitive empathy score in the pandemic cohort compared to pre-pandemic cohorts. Medical students (n = 395) were recruited during the COVID-19 pandemic and completed the Interpersonal Reactivity Index (IRI) and the Basic Empathy Scale (BES). This cohort was then compared with two pre-pandemic cohorts (one used the BES [n = 1168], and the other used the IRI [n = 342]). Similar results were found on both scales: the pandemic cohort displayed significantly higher scores in affective empathy and personal distress (affective empathy domain) and, surprisingly, significant higher scores in cognitive empathy, fantasy, and perspective-taking (cognitive empathy domains). As stressed by previous studies, we posited that the higher scores in affective empathy, personal distress, and fantasy might indicate emotional difficulties. The paper concludes with the identification of empathy components that should be promoted in the curriculum of medical students.
A study of the relationship between ethical sensitivity and emotional intelligence in nursing, anesthesia, and operating room students
Mina Mosallanezhad, Camellia Torabizadeh and Ladan Zarshenas
pp 89 - 104
When providing healthcare services, healthcare students face a variety of ethical issues and conflicts daily. Such characteristics as ethical sensitivity and emotional intelligence are influential in determining an individual’s performance and can prove useful in coping with challenges in life. Given the significance of these two variables in the career prospects and educational and professional lives of students, the present cross-sectional study with 486 students majoring in nursing, operating room, and anesthesia, aims to investigate the relationship between ethical sensitivity and emotional intelligence. Data were collected using demographics, ethical sensitivity, and emotional intelligence. The students’ ethical sensitivity level was high, while their emotional intelligence was average. Regression analysis revealed that students’ ethical sensitivity was related to their emotional intelligence and gender. There is also a significant correlation between ethical sensitivity and emotional intelligence on one hand and gender on the other: female students possess higher levels of ethical sensitivity, while male students have greater emotional intelligence. Students in nursing schools may benefit from greater insight into the concepts of ethical sensitivity and emotional intelligence and ways to enhance them.
Emotional intelligence and perfectionism among gifted and non-identified students
Dilek Ozdogan and Savas Akgul
pp 105 - 118
The current study comparatively examines the emotional intelligence and perfectionism of gifted and non-identified students. A total of 857 students participated in the study. Data were collected through the Positive and Negative Perfectionism Scale, which measures students’ perfectionism levels and the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory Youth Version EQ-i:YV, which measures students’ emotional intelligence. Our findings indicate that gifted students' scores in the intrapersonal and adaptability subdimensions of emotional intelligence and their overall scores in emotional intelligence are higher than those of non-identified students; while non-identified students’ average score of positive perfectionism is higher than that of the gifted students. Additionally, we found a negative correlation between positive impression and negative perfectionism in the non-identified group, while the correlation between these variables was positive amongst the gifted participants. Our findings may help design successful educational and guidance programmes for the gifted and their non-identified peers and in-service programmes for their teachers and counsellors.
Learning Support Zones: Former students' experience and perceived Impact on Home and Work Environment
Elise Cassar and Angela Abela
pp 119 - 135
This study explored how past students who attended the Learning Support Zone (LSZ) in Maltese secondary schools perceived their attendance at the LSZ and its impact on their home and work environments. In-depth interviews were conducted with eleven adults who attended the LSZ when they were in secondary school. Thematic analysis was used to elicit a set of themes. The findings highlight the multiple struggles that students with social, emotional and behavioural difficulties (SEBD) face. The narratives highlight the positive impact of the LSZ and its staff, but the families of these students were hardly involved. Social skills, independent living skills, and emotional literacy taught at the LSZ are believed to have helped these youths enhance their motivation and perceived self-worth and deal with adversities more effectively both at home and at work. The key recommendations of the study are the re-evaluation of inclusive policies within schools, consideration of the perspective of the students, better understanding, and monitoring of students with SEBD within schools, and more active involvement of all relevant stakeholders, especially families.
The Coach’s Role in Young Athletes’ Emotional Competence and Psychological Well-being
Iñigo Aguinaga San José, Ana Martinez-Pampliega, Txemi Santamaría and Laura Merino Ramos
pp 136 - 151
This paper presents a model that analyses the relationship between the coach’s emotional competences and the training climate as predictors of the youngsters’ emotional competences and psychological well-being. In the present study, 309 athletes and 17 coaches participated in the study. A general predictive model was estimated with path analysis and the maximum robust likelihood (MLR) estimation method. The results showed that the coach’s emotional competences are associated with autonomysupportive climates (β = .15, p < .005). This climate is related to youth’s emotional competences (β = .30, p < .005) and lower emotional (β = -.27, p < .005), behavioural (β = -.51, p < .005), and social (β = -.33, p < .005) symptomatology. These results have important practical implications in designing interventions that promote coaches’ emotional competences given its association with autonomy-supportive climates, which in turn are related to athletes’ emotional competences and psychological well-being.
Short Research Report: The effect of traditional play on the emotional intelligence, social ability, and self-esteem of children in Korean child welfare centers: A mixed-methods study
Hye-Soo Lim
pp 152 - 159
This mixed-methods study investigated the effects of a traditional play program (TPP) on 48 children’s emotional intelligence (EQ), social ability (SA), and self-esteem (SE), important skills for children’s overall well-being and development. The participants were recruited from two child welfare centers (CCs) and divided into experimental and control groups. The experimental group participated in a 13-week, biweekly 40-minute TPP designed to improve these skills. The analysis revealed TPP’s efficacy in improving EQ, SA, and SE, with consequent implications for child welfare centers’ interventions. Future research should focus on understanding underlying mechanisms and generalizability to other groups.
