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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal – Vol. 9, No. 6
Publication Date: June 25, 2022
DOI:10.14738/assrj.96.12386. Fakhrou, A., Moarbes, L., Rjeily, C. A., & Essa, M. (2022). The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Teamwork Skills in Public Schools
Principals. Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(6). 154-177.
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Teamwork Skills in
Public Schools Principals
Abdulnaser Fakhrou
Qatar University
Laba Moarbes
University of Lebanon
Christelle Abou Rjeily
University of Lebanon
Mohammed Essa
University of Lebanon
ABSTRACT
This study aimed to identify the level of emotional intelligence and its impact on the
cooperative work skills of public school principals, as well as examining the levels
of their cooperative work skills practices. And its relationship to gender variables,
and administrative experience. The study sample consisted of 53 public school
principals, and the descriptive analytical approach was adopted in data collection,
analysis and interpretation. The results showed that school principals had
moderate levels of emotional intelligence, with a decrease in the abilities of
emotional awareness, assertiveness and public relations. The study also revealed
an average level of cooperative work skills practice, with low levels of
empowerment skills practice. There are no statistically significant differences in
the average emotional intelligence and the level of practice of cooperative work
skills for the school principal due to the variables of gender and administrative
experience. While there were statistically significant differences in the ability to
adapt due to the gender variable for school principals. The results showed
differences in the areas: the ability to withstand stress, control emotions, conflict
resolution skills, communication and meeting management, attributed to the
variable of administrative experience in favor of more experienced school
principals. The study confirmed the existence of a positive and moderate
correlation between emotional intelligence and collaborative work skills.
Key words: emotional intelligence – teamwork skills – public school
INTRODUCTION
School has still been a place to prepare new generations educationally, pedagogically and
socially. All elements involved in the educational process, including teachers, learners, the
external environment and the curriculum play an active role at school. Furthermore, the
principal is considered to play a central role at school and, as the leader, he influences all parts
of the school.
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Fakhrou, A., Moarbes, L., Rjeily, C. A., & Essa, M. (2022). The Impact of Emotional Intelligence on Teamwork Skills in Public Schools Principals.
Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal, 9(6). 154-177.
URL: http://dx.doi.org/10.14738/assrj.96.12386
In today’s schools, education demonstrates more needs and entails the development of
students’ higher-order thinking. Therefore, there must be creative teachers who cooperate in
work teams with different management and leadership. To illustrate, the leadership of such
groups differs from the supervision and management of traditional pyramidal models.
Moreover, these groups call for trust, cooperation and establishment of relations (Hoor, 2009).
Communication and conflict resolution skills, enablement and cooperation skills, as well as
other skills such as planning, coordination, time management, and meeting management are
among the most important skills of team work. The school principal should master and apply
such skills in order to organize an effective team and, consequently, to reinforce the positive
atmosphere of school. This helps to encourage teachers and to establish work relations based
on mutual cooperation, active communication, trust and obligation to achieve the school’s
goals.
Any principal having the above mentioned competencies and skills will definitely have a
personality, different skills, intelligence––especially emotional intelligence––that lend him the
leadership characteristic. A principal has to possess suitable personal competencies, such as
emotional self-awareness, self-awareness and self-esteem, as well as social interaction
competencies. He should establish relationships with others, should have the ability to adapt
to, and endure, pressures, and should be positive and hopeful when working. These skills
altogether make up the emotional intelligence of the principal.
Mayer and Salovey were the first to define emotional intelligence, considering it to be an
intellectual ability to perceive one’s own emotions and those of others and, subsequently, to
control one’s emotions by using them in regulating thinking and behavior (Mayer & Salovey,
1990). We assumed emotions to facilitate thinking processes. Furthermore, we clarified how to
measure the features––the intellectual abilities––of this type of intelligence and determined the
four dimensions of emotional intelligence: identifying, employing, understanding and
regulating emotions.
The paramount competencies in persons with the most effective and successful lives, Bar-On
(2006) emphasizes, are emotional self-awareness, empathy, flexibility, optimism, ability to
solve problems, social competence, ability to establish personal relationships, impulse control
and stress tolerance. Emotional intelligence, he added, is composed of 15 competencies
distributed to five components and three dimensions––personal, emotional and social.
Considering the provided definitions, we believe emotional intelligence to comprise a set of
intellectual abilities, personal and affective skills, as well as social competencies. An individual
having such characteristics can understand and perceive his own and others’ feelings, and he
can control and regulate those feelings when adapting to the environment. Furthermore, such
a person can motivate himself, endure tension and pressure, empathize with others, and
establish successful personal relationships in which to communicate appropriately and resolve
conflicts. There are various studies having investigated the association between emotional
intelligence and some variables, among which are the following:
1. Al-Handasi (2008) performed a study in an attempt to investigate the degree of
emotional intelligence in school principals in the Sultanate of Oman. An attempt was also
made to investigate the relationship between emotional intelligence and some
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Advances in Social Sciences Research Journal (ASSRJ) Vol. 9, Issue 6, June-2022
Services for Science and Education – United Kingdom
demographic variables, including gender (male versus female), educational zone, years
of experience and type of school. The most important results of this study suggested
that:
- There are statistically no significant differences in the self-awareness dimension;
- There are statistically significant differences in:
• Self-regulation dimension favoring males;
• Social skills dimension favoring females;
• Social skills dimension in relation to experience, such that there are
differences favoring principals having a long experience over those having a
short experience.
2. Kurdi (2010) conducted a study that sought to identify the relationship between
emotional intelligence and educational leadership in secondary school female principals
in the Western Province, Saudi Arabia. This study also aimed to identify the relationship
between emotional intelligence and social skills, as well as the relationship between
emotional intelligence and self-efficacy in the sample group. Results showed the
following:
- There is a positive relationship between emotional intelligence and leadership, and
the former is related to leadership effectiveness;
- There is a statistically significant relationship between emotional intelligence and
social skills in leaders;
- Emotional intelligence increases the principal’s ability to solve problems and handle
conflicts without being influenced by pressures that would reduce his self-efficacy.
3. Al-Omrat (2014) carried out a study that aimed to identify the relationship between
emotional intelligence and leader effectiveness in principals of schools of Petra and
Wadi Al-Seer, Jordan. The study sample comprised 102 male and female principals.
Findings suggested that the level of emotional intelligence in principals was moderate,
and so was the score of leader effectiveness.
Results also showed that there are statistically significant differences at the level of emotional
intelligence as a function of gender, field of study, school level and experience, favoring male
principals holding a master’s degree and working in primary schools. These differences were
observed in the ideal influence dimension. There were, however, statistically no significant
differences in the score of leader effectiveness as a function of field of study. Furthermore,
findings pointed to a correlational relationship between the level of emotional intelligence and
leader effectiveness score. This study recommended that it is necessary to train school
principals to improve emotional intelligence.
The school principal is responsible for all activities done at and around the school. In addition,
guardians’ and students’ stances are to a high extent determined by the methods the principal
adopts while performing his duty. Therefore, if the school is a place full of activity, vigor and
creativity, that would be thanks to the principal’s leadership, as a key to success (Marzano,
Waters & Manulty, 2011). In order for the principal to carry out his responsibilities effectively,
he has to acquire a set of skills. Here, “skill” is meant to be the ability to apply the principles and
knowledge that concern one’s work. Skills required for the school principal are categorized
under four headings: personal skills, technical skills, humanitarian skills, and perceptual and
mental skills.