Profiles of Perceived Emotional Intelligence in Future Preschool Teachers: Implications for Teacher Education

Abstract

Preprimary teachers’ emotional adjustment is important for both personal and professional wellbeing and small students´ development and wellbeing. However, little research has been conducted into emotional intelligence of preprimary teachers, despite their role as “socializers” in early childhood. The Trait Meta-­‐Mood Scale was used to assess levels of perceived emotional intelligence in 418 future preschool teachers and four profiles were identified. Most had adequate levels, but we identified a group of students with inadequate levels of emotional attention. The findings highlight the importance of ensuring that teachers will be helped to develop different components of emotional intelligence during their initial training in college.

El equilibrio emocional de los maestro/as de educación Infantil es importante para su bienestar personal y profesional, y para el desarrollo de sus pequeños alumnos pero existe escasa investigación con este grupo, a pesar del importante papel como socializadores en edades tan tempranas. En este studio se usó el TMMS-­‐24 para evaluar la inteligencia emocional percibida de 418 estudiantes universitarios de Educacion Infantil identificándose cuatro tipo de perfiles. Aunque la mayoría obtuvo niveles adecuados, se encontró un grupo con niveles problemáticos en atención emocional. Los resultados insisten en la importancia de ayudar a estos futuros maestros a desarrollar los diferentes elementos de la inteligencia emocional durante la formación inicial universitaria.