Emotional intelligence and academic achievement in higher education

Abstract

PurposeThis study examines the role of emotional intelligence on academic achievement among students at a private university in Kuwait.Design/methodology/approachThe data were obtained through a questionnaire which elicits information on students' sociodemographic data and their overall college grade point average (GPA). The 16-item Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS, Wong and Law, 2002), was used to evaluate the level of emotional intelligence and explore the effect on academic performance in a sample of 480 Kuwaiti college students.FindingsThe results of the study indicate that academic success was strongly associated with self-emotion appraisal (SEA) and use of emotions (UOE). However, the results did not show direct correlations with age, high schooling system, gender and nationality. Additionally, results provide supporting evidence that the WLEIS scale has good psychometric properties and can be used as a reliable tool to assess the emotional intelligence skills among college students in Kuwait.Research limitations/implicationsThe study has several limitations that require consideration when interpreting the findings. First, this research used a quantitative methodology, which can provide limited information about emotional intelligence, and further qualitative research is necessary to identify contributors and inhibitors of this construct. Second, as in any study using self-report measures, the results may have been influenced by participants' acquiescence and need for social desirability. Further studies should aim to include ways in which EI can be incorporated into academic curricula and qualification framework and barriers that may pertain to encourage emotional intelligence skills development in higher education and suggest solutions accordingly. In future studies it would be interesting to see educators' self-perception vs of students to include a multi-rated for the emotional intelligence. To this end, these areas of study could provide a more comprehensive understanding in the sense of integrating emotional intelligence theories and methods from multiple disciplines that constitute social, personality and psychological trait within higher education. This research has only considered samples from a private university in Kuwait. Extension of sampling scope to other universities around the country and in the Middle East may bring a better understanding of students' emotional intelligence level. In terms of EI components, the results of this study indicated that students score highest in self-emotional appraisal (SEA) and the use of emotions (UOA) and lowest on regulation of emotions (ROE). Additional studies can be conducted to see whether the same results apply on Arab students in the Middle East as a whole. The present study has provided more evidence of the need for cross-cultural comparison of an imported construct and its measurement by showing that the emotional intelligence construct, defined by the WLEIS (Wong and Law, 2002), may be understood differently in other cultures.Practical implicationsThere are two key implications in this study, one concerning gender and the other relating to students' GPA. The results suggested differences between the way female and male students viewed EI skills in relation to their academic achievement. Considering that the instrument used to measure EI was the Wong and Law Emotional Intelligence Scale (WLEIS), a self-report measure, perhaps a degree of bias was introduced. Male students' EI scores as a whole (M = 5.56) were higher than the EI mean score for female students (M = 5.39). As Novinger (2001) proposed, emotional expressiveness in the Arab world is such that women are trained to be less demonstrative of their emotions than men.Social implicationsIn addition, gender and cultural values may influence communication styles among Arab students during the teaching process. An awareness of gender and cultural difference related to EI could be beneficial to all parties (students, educators and administrators) in higher educational institutions. Educators' sensitivity to students' EI skills associated with culture can be manifested in a wide variety of teaching practices, ranging from educators' expectations toward students to their interpersonal interactions with students and from teaching styles to assessment methods. For example, an understanding of the possible impact of gender on EI skills may raise educators' levels of cultural sensitivity in dealing with students in the Middle East, particularly, in Kuwait. Even though this study did not show a significant relationship between the overall EI level and students’ GPA, an effect on EI components SEA and UOA was found. University administrators and educators wishing to increase students' academic achievement would do well to incorporate the use and recognition of emotions into their curricula. For instance, emotions can be used to channel the anxiety created by exams to motivate students to prepare more thoroughly and attain more higher standards.Originality/valueEmotional intelligence skills are important predictors of academic success, and they play a key role in students' performance, and greater the emotional intelligence, the academic achievement will be higher. The results of this study support the research studies suggesting that students' emotional intelligence (EI) should be considered by curriculum designers to enable educators assist their students reach successful academic performance.