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.