Emotional Intelligence in Colombian Primary School Children. Location and Gender Analysis

Lucía Herrera Torres,Sergio Cepero Espinosa,Rafael Enrique Buitrago Bonilla

doi:10.11144/javeriana.upsy16-3.eips

Lucía Herrera Torres, Sergio Cepero Espinosa + Show 1 more

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https://doi.org/10.11144/javeriana.upsy16-3.eips

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Abstract

This paper analyses Emotional Intelligence (EI) in Colombian Primary School Children depending on their location (rural or urban) and gender. The final sample consisted of 1451 students in fourth and fifth grade of three provinces in Boyacá department. Emotional Quotient Inventory: Youth Version (EQ-i: YV; Bar-On & Parker, 2000) was used for data collection. Both the reliability and validity of EQ-i: YV have been determined for this sample. The main results revealed differences in EI according to location. Overall, EI was higher in the urban than rural settings. Also, scores on the dimensions interpersonal and adaptability differed by gender. Additionally, the need for future research and development of Social and Emotional Learning programs in schools is discussed.

Highlights

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a construct that has aroused interest in psychological research in recent decades (Bar-On, 2010; Stough, Saklofske, & Parker, 2009)
On the one hand we have models based on the processing of emotional information, that is, focused on basic emotional abilities (Brackett, Rivers, & Salovey, 2011; Mayer & Salovey, 1997); on the other hand, there are mixed models of EI, which involve both intellectual and personality factors
According to what we have described so far, the main objective of this research was to analyze the EI, using the Bar-On Model of Emotional and Social Intelligence (1997, 2006), of children attending fourth and fifth grade of primary school, from the department of Boyacá in Colombia, taking into account their location and gender

Summary

Introduction

Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a construct that has aroused interest in psychological research in recent decades (Bar-On, 2010; Stough, Saklofske, & Parker, 2009). Studies which used the EQ-i as a measuring instrument of EI, found that men score higher in the adaptability and general mood domains, while women score higher in the interpersonal and intrapersonal domains, and in Total EQ (Bar-On & Parker, 2000; Ferrándiz, Hernández, Bermejo, Ferrando, & Sáinz, 2012; Santesso, Reker, Schmidt, & Segalowitz, 2006) To explain these differences, the need to go beyond the scope of sexual differences in EI must be emphasized in and non-stereotyped referents of gender identity promoted (Conway, 2000). Despite what has been described so far, and the fact that all children are entitled to have quality education regardless of their geographic

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