Assessing the Emotional Intelligence of Gifted and Talented Adolescent Students in the Kingdom of Bahrain

Abstract

This study assessed the differences in the emotional intelligence of gifted adolescent students and talented adolescent students in Bahrain. The sample consisted of 80 gifted adolescent students and 80 talented adolescent students in Grades 9 through 12. A multivariate analysis of variance (MANOVA) indicates that there were significant differences in emotional intelligence levels, as measured by the Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory, between gifted students and talented students in Bahrain in the direction of gifted students. There were differences between the gifted and the talented students in intrapersonal, adaptability, general mood subtest, and total emotional intelligence scores. Finally, gifted males had higher total emotional intelligence scores than gifted females; talented females had higher interpersonal scores than talented males.

Keywords:

• adolescents
• Bahrain
• emotional intelligence
• gifted and talented students

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Najat Sulaiman Al-Hamdan

Najat Sulaiman Al-Hamdan, PhD, is an assistant professor in the Gifted Education Department at the Arabian Gulf University (AGU). She teaches English as a second language in secondary schools in Saudi Arabia. She is section head at the Diplomatic Institute, Saudi Ministry of Foreign Affairs and lectures in the Special Education Department at King Saud University, Riyadh, KSA. She is also coordinator at the Gifted Education Program in KSA. She received her doctor of education from the University of Houston, Texas (thesis subject “Home Environment and IQ of Saudi Kindergarten Children”); a master’s in curriculum and supervision from Point Loma College, San Diego, California; and a bachelor’s in English language from Riyadh University, Saudi Arabia. Her research interests include curriculum development for the gifted, enrichment, thinking skills, emotional intelligence, and early childhood education. E-mail: [email protected]

Fatima Ahmed Al-Jasim

Fatima Ahmed Al-Jasim is an assistant professor in the Gifted Education Program at the Arabian Gulf University (AGU). She was a secondary school teacher for 11 years in Bahrain, a gifted education specialist at the Ministry of Education for 7 years, and a lecturer in the Gifted Education Program at the university academic level. She holds a master’s degree in gifted education from AGU and a doctorate from the University of King Mohammed V (thesis on “Thinking Skills According to the Theory of Successful Intelligence”). She delivered several courses for teachers on planning for gifted programs and programs on care for the gifted and participated in a number of conferences on talent and creativity. E-mail: [email protected]

Ahmed M. Abdulla

Ahmed M. Abdulla is a faculty member in the Gifted and Creative Education Program at the Arabian Gulf University (AGU). His research interests are in creativity, divergent thinking, problem finding, and emotional intelligence. He has presented a number of workshops on giftedness and creativity in Bahrain, Saudi Arabia, Oman, and the United States. In addition, he has presented a number of papers at national and international conferences. E-mail: [email protected]