The promotion of emotional literacy through personal and social development : the Maltese experience

Abstract

This paper intends to explore emotional literacy (EL) in relation to Personal and Social Development (PSD) as implemented in the Maltese Islands. Self-empowerment, emotional literacy, and self-expression contribute to a good quality of life of self and others. These are addressed in Maltese schools during timetabled statutory PSD sessions. The authors argue the concept of EL as opposed to emotional intelligence and explain how and why EL is embedded in the methodology used in the Maltese PSD model. This includes the processing stage within the experiential learning cycle. They note that EL is so important that it should not only form part of the PSD syllabus but should also be a whole school approach.