Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand and express our feelings safely and appropriately. It helps us to appreciate and empathize with the feelings of others. It enables us to manage stressful situations well and develop sustaining relationships. Emotional intelligence gives us thoughtful control over our behaviour rather than being at the mercy of powerful and possibly confusing emotions. Poor social and emotional understanding contributes to a wide range of personal and social ills.
Whatever their level of ability and success, all adults experience difficult situations in their lives for which they need emotional intelligence. All children therefore need opportunities to become self-aware, learn to manage their feelings and develop good relationship skills.
The development of emotional and social intelligence needs to be part of the education process for everybody, ELECT has been established to provide schools with the knowledge, skills and strategies needed to address these issues. Social and emotional literacy in schools maximises learning and minimises behaviour difficulties.
School culture is now recognised as crucial to effectiveness. ELECT also helps schools develop shared value systems, positive communications and conflict management strategies which enable them to become emotionally intelligent organisations.
Attainment in learning, and success generally, is often dependent on the individuals' ability to manage the social and emotional aspects of their lives, including those encountered within the school environment.
ELECT aims:
- To promote the social and emotional well-being of students, teachers, parents, and the whole school culture in order to maximise learning and minimise behaviour difficulties
- To raise awareness of the importance of intra and interpersonal learning in education both for individuals and for society
- To provide an understanding of the complex interactions between experiences, perceptions, feelings, learning and behaviour
- To develop the knowledge and skill base of educators on social and emotional issues which impinge on the learning environment
- To increase understanding and skills for both children and parents
- To foster a climate of mutual support in the class room and the staff room
- To help schools create cultures in which diversity is actively valued, communications and interactions are positive, and conflict managed effectively
Fostering social and emotional intelligence may require individuals to think differently in order to develop their practice. Change is a process and intervention may be required at different levels:
- A direct focus on school culture and change - e.g. establishing a vision for the future
- The facilitatation of whole school development in a specific area - e.g. behaviour policy, working with parents
- A multi-faceted approach to address a broader issue - e.g. communications, school attendance
- Specific projects which illustrate how social and emotional intelligence can influence outcomes - e.g. circle of friends
- Professional development sessions which sow the seeds of new thinking - e.g. the relationship between loss and behavioural difficulty
ELECT offers schools a range of services.
- In-service training - ranging from single after- school sessions for sections of the school community to full whole school training days.
- Longer term interventions with class or year groups working jointly with staff members.
- The development of specific whole school strategies e.g. peer mediation.
- Support for policy development.
- Running workshops on specific needs
- Facilitation of home school and community partnerships.
- Research, monitoring and evaluation
Some areas in which we have specific expertise are:
anti-bullying:
definitions, school surveys, raising awareness of outcomes, looking for signs,communications, bystanders, assertiveness strategies, group bullying, the ' no blame' response, class interventions, whole school approaches, adult bullying, working with parents.
developing a positive social climate in the classroom:
modelling and teaching pro-social behaviour, group expectations, co-operation and collaboration, common threads and differences, conversation skills,gender issues, ozcircle activities and circle of friends.
improving attendance
looking at the push/pull factors - why do kids come to school, what makes it a difficult place to be, what makes it a place where they feel good about themselves? When does an occasional day off become a slide into truancy and what can be d one about it? How to support good attendance and respond effectively to unauthorised absence.
inclusion for vulnerable children:
those with special educational needs, children who need to feel they belong, who need to feel safe.
developing more effective partnerships with parents/carers:
communications, ethos, power and partnership, the parent role in school, not making assumptions or judgements, building on skills, working with parents who may be aggressive or reluctant to engage, addressing cultural diversity.
behaviour in the classroom:
establishing rules, routines and expectations, rewarding the positive, immediate management strategies, assessment of longer-term difficulties, responding to the needs of the hard to manage child, peer support.
Other areas include: the effects of change and loss including family breakdown, anger management, conflict resolution,peer mediation, counselling skills, early years and behaviour, transitions, teenagers, playgrounds, special needs and behaviour.
ELECT consultants work with schools to identify needs and appropriate interventions to effect change.
We work in partnership, building on the skills and expertise of teachers and others. Initial discussions explore what is working well as well as what needs to change. As consultants we take responsibility for responding to the issues that are presented, offering interventions and training in negotiation to ensure their relevance to the specific context. Schools are responsible for putting ideas into practice and facilitating ELECT's effective involvement.
<= Click here
Last updated:
