Emotional literacy in the primary classroom: teacher perceptions and practices

Abstract

Despite a large amount of research into the impact of improved emotional literacy (EL) on various outcomes in pupils, there have been few studies exploring the perspectives of teachers. In this exploratory case study of a primary school in the north-west of England, which incorporated questionnaires and interviews with teachers, focus groups with pupils and classroom observations, we sought to explore teachers' perceptions of what constitutes emotional literacy, how this is practiced and modelled in the classroom, what factors influenced the development of EL initiatives and their perceptions of the benefits of improved EL. Key themes that emerged from the data are presented and discussed in the context of developing emotional literacy in schools.