Effect of Emotional Intelligence on Economic Teachers’ Self-Efficacy: The Moderating Role of Background Characteristics

Abstract

The study examined the moderating role of teacher background characteristics on the influence of emotional intelligence on the self-efficacy of Economics teachers in senior high schools. The model testing correlational research design was employed for the study. Eighty-eight (88) senior high school economics teachers participated in the study, from an initial accessible population of 300. The General Self-Efficacy scale developed by Schwarzer and Jerusalem (1995) and the Quick Emotional Intelligence Self-Assessment scale developed by Mohapel (2015) were adapted to measure economics teachers' self-efficacy and emotional intelligence, respectively. The reliability and validity of the instruments were established using Cronbach's alpha, composite reliability and convergent validity. Smart-PLS (Partial Least Square modelling) was used to estimate the model to establish the relationship among teachers' background characteristics, emotional intelligence and self-efficacy. The study revealed that senior high school economics teachers' marital status, gender and teaching experience affected their emotional intelligence and self-efficacy in teaching economics. Economics teachers' emotional intelligence affected their self-efficacy. However, teachers' marital status, gender and teaching experience did not moderate the effect of emotional intelligence on the self-efficacy of economics teachers. It is recommended that training interventions by the Ghana Education Service, Continuous Professional Development service providers and other educational stakeholders be channeled towards improving self-concepts, especially emotional intelligence and teachers' self-efficacy. Training for teachers on emotional intelligence and self-efficacy should be targeted based on their gender, marital status and teaching experience, as they differed significantly on these self-concepts in terms of these background characteristics.