Emotional intelligence and educational reform

Abstract

This paper focuses on the notion of educational reform and discusses Emotional Intelligence (EI) in the context of the modernist-postmodernist debate. It is argued that through the application of EI into contemporary societies a new wave of reform emerges that provides science with normative power over the emotional world of individuals. This reform aims primarily on the maximization of performance and employs modes of judgment, selection and regulation of emotions. Thus teachers' emotions can be accurately described, prescribed and synchronized with the paces of reform. Rewards, sanctions but also penalties can be applied based on the compliance of the individual teacher with the predefined indicators of appropriate or inappropriate emotional conduct. However, epistemological, ethical and moral questions should be raised and the side effects of the modernization movement should be considered before applying the new ethos that EI brings along.

Keywords:

• emotional intelligence
• educational reform
• teachers
• ethics/morals/beliefs

Notes

1. modern. (n.d.). Dictionary.com website. Unabridged. http://dictionary.reference.com/browse/modern (accessed 19 May 2010)