Teachers' Perceptions of Emotional Intelligence and Social-Emotional Learning: Students' Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties in U.S. and Greek Preschool Classrooms

Teachers are important socializers and provide students with experiences to further promote their social-emotional competences or shift their pathways towards emotional and behavioral difficulties. These experiences may vary depending on teachers' perceptions of their own emotional intelligence (EI) and beliefs about social and emotional learning (SEL) implementation. However, teachers' perceptions of EI and SEL cannot be meaningfully understood without consideration of their cultural values. The present study examined differences in U.S. and Greek preschool teachers' perceptions of their own EI and SEL beliefs, and used these teacher perceptions and beliefs to predict preschool students' emotional and behavioral difficulties, for each cultural group. Goals were to examine whether: (1) U.S. and Greek preschool teachers' perceptions of EI and SEL vary by cultural group, and (2) teachers' perceptions of EI and SEL relate to students' emotional and behavioral difficulties, and these relations vary by cultural group. Participants were 80 preschool teachers from the United States and 92 preschool teachers from Greece. The study provided evidence for the cultural-relativity of EI and SEL dimensions, and indicated that teachers' perceptions of EI and SEL selectively predict students' difficulties in either population. Discussion focuses on cultural considerations in shaping teachers' perceptions of EI and SEL beliefs.