Twenty-first-century professional development for educators: a coaching approach grounded in emotional intelligence

Abstract

In recent years, school leaders have recognised the need for developing emotional intelligence (EI) skills, such as self-awareness and emotion management, in students and educators. As they seek professional development (PD) to cultivate these skills in educators and their students, they may look to coaching, grounded in EI theory, as a feasible and effective PD option. This article describes findings from a case study conducted with 12 internal coaches in one school Federation in Kent, England from 2008 to 2010. This study explored the benefits and challenges of implementing a coaching programme delivered by educators for educators responsible for teaching EI skills to students. Twelve educators participated in a yearlong coach certification and delivery process grounded in EI theory and skills. Data collection included pre- and post- interviews and online reports from each of six coaching sessions. Findings revealed benefits for both coaches-in-training and clients, including: deeper commitment to teaching EI skills, increases in self-awareness and self-management, and improved relationships with others. While coaches and clients reported positive behavioural changes, lack of support at the leadership level was found to negatively impact successful implementation of the programme.

Keywords:

• coaching
• emotional intelligence
• social and emotional learning
• school culture
• personal development
• professional development
• school leaders
• educators
• self-awareness
• self-management

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Janet Patti, Ed.D. is Professor of Administration and Supervision, Department of Curriculum and Teaching, Hunter College, CUNY. Dr. Patti holds an Ed.D. in Educational Leadership from the University of Northern Arizona, and a Master's Degree in Bilingual Education (1978) from Hunter College, CUNY. Dr. Patti is an internationally recognised educator and author in the fields of SEL and educational leadership development. Dr. Patti's research interests are twofold: (1) to help leaders acquire successful strategies to create and sustain caring, safe school learning environments, and (2) to help leaders enter into a transformative, reflective process of development that incorporates social and EI. Dr. Patti is a founding member of the Leadership Team of the Collaborative for Academic Social and Emotional Learning (CASEL) and a member of both the Consortium for Research in Emotional Intelligence in Organisations and The Institute of Coaching.

Allison A. Holzer, MAT, PCC & CPCC, is a Founding Partner of InspireCorps where she leverages her passions for coaching, emotional intelligence, and positive psychology to help individuals flourish as whole leaders. As a certified coach, consultant, and facilitator with over a decade of experience, she cultivates inspiration, confidence, and enhanced leadership and performance capabilities in her clients. Allison has co-authored a book chapter and several articles on EI, coaching, and leadership. Allison consults for the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. She co-designed an online learning community for RULER, the Yale Center's SEL programme and co-authored RULER's Feeling Words Curriculum (K-2). She holds a BA in Psychology from Dartmouth College and an MAT from American University.

Marc A. Brackett, Ph.D., is director of the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. He is also a senior research scientist in psychology and faculty fellow in the Edward Zigler Center in Child Development and Social Policy at Yale University. He co-created RULER and has developed two university courses on EI. Marc is a recipient of the Joseph E. Zins Award for his research on SEL. His grant-funded research focuses on (1) the role of EI in learning, decision making, relationship quality, and mental health, (2) the measurement of EI, and (3) the influences of EI training on student and educator effectiveness, bullying prevention, and school climate. Marc also is working with Facebook on a large-scale research project designed to both prevent and decrease online bullying. He is the author of 100 scholarly publications.

Robin Stern, Ph.D., is the Associate Director at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence. She is a licensed psychoanalyst, educator, and author, with over 25 years of experience treating individuals, couples, and groups. Robin holds a doctorate from New York University and a postdoctoral certificate from the Postgraduate Center for Mental Health. In addition, she is a co-developer of RULER, the Yale Center's evidence-based programme, a faculty member at the Summer Principal's Academy, Teachers College, Columbia University, on the Advisory Board of the Crisis Text Line, and a member of the Consortium on Research for Emotional Intelligence in Organisations. Currently, Robin consults with Facebook, on a project designed to both prevent and decrease online bullying.

Notes

1. It should be noted that while the PPC occurred in one school Federation within the UK, the coaching program developers, trainers, and authors of this study are based in the USA.

2. At that time, the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence Center was called the Yale Health, Emotion, and Behavior Laboratory.

3. The first summer the training was four days but we increased it to five the following year, as it was determined that four was not sufficient.