Abstract
This chapter looks at the concept of well-being and quality of life in relation to teacher education in ECCE and the Foundation Phase (FP), and how use of principles of emotional intelligence (EI) leads to improvement in well-being for teachers, parents and learners. Emanating from a call for help by in-service FP teachers who were studying for a B. Ed. (FP) qualification, came the realization that teachers were struggling to connect with learners and parents, resulting in a breakdown in quality of life. This research made use of a Vygotskian theoretical framework, coupled with application of the principles of EI and qualitative comments made by the aforementioned teachers. The result was improved communication between all parties and, in the process, the quality of life for the learner, parent and teacher improved through establishment of positive lines of communication and trust. Another study shows how QOL can potentially be enhanced through training teachers in ECCE to be professional, context adaptive and reflective individuals who place the child at the centre of learning.
This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.
Access this chapter
Tax calculation will be finalised at checkout
Purchases are for personal use only
References
Bar-on, R. (2003). How important is it to educate people to be emotionally and socially intelligent, and can it be done? Perspectives in Education, 21, 3–13.
Britto, P. R., Yoshikawa, H., & Boller, K. (2011). Measuring quality and using it to improve practice and policy in early childhood development. Early childhood matters (Vol. 126, pp. 83–90).
Burke Johnson, R., & Onwuegbuzie, A. J. (2004). Mixed methods research: A research paradigm whose time has come. Educational Researcher, 33, 14–26.
Creswell, J. W. (2003). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative and mixed methods approaches (2nd ed.). Thousand Oakes, CA: Sage.
Cummins, R. A. (1996). The domains of life satisfaction: An attempt to order chaos. Social Indicators Research, 38, 303–328.
Department of Basic Education. (2011). Implementation plan of the National Curriculum and Assessment Policy Statements (CAPS) Grades R-12. Pretoria.
Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, P., Dymnicki, A. B., et al. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82, 405–432.
Elfenbein, H. A., & Maccann, C. (2017). A closer look at ability emotional intelligence (EI): What are its component parts, and how do they relate to each other? Social and Personality Psychology Compass, 11, 2–26.
Fleisch, B. (2008). Primary education in crisis: Why South African school children under-achieve in reading and mathematics. Cape Town, South Africa: Juta.
Goleman, D. (1996). Emotional intelligence. New York, NY: Bantam Books.
Goleman, D. (1998). Working with emotional intelligence (lst ed.). New York, NY: Bantam Books.
Goleman, D. (2001). Emotional intelligence: Issues in paradigm building. In The emotionally intelligent workplace (pp. 13–27). San Francisco, CA: Jossey-Bass.
Goleman, D. (2007). Social intelligence: The new science of human relationships (1st ed.). London, UK: Arrow Books.
Greenberg, M. T., Weissberg, R. P., O’Brian, M. U., et al. (2003). Enhancing school-based prevention and youth development through coordinated social, emotional and academic learning. American Psychologist, 58, 466–474.
Gumbo, M., & Msila, V. (2017). African voices on indigenisation of the curriculum: Insights from practice. Wandsbeck, South Africa: Reach Publishers.
Harrison, G. D. (2011). Mediating self-regulation in a kindergarten class in South Africa: An exploratory case study. Cape Town: M.Ed. University of Cape Town.
Harrison, G. (2014). Tools for learning: A socio-cultural analysis of pedagogy in early reading competency. PhD dissertation.
Harrison, G. D. (Ed.). (2017). Project for inclusive early childhood care and education (PIECCE): Output 2 baseline findings. Grahamstown: Centre for Social Development.
Howie, S. J., Combrinck, C., Roux, K., Tshele, M., Mokoena, G. M., & McLeod Palane, N. (2017). PIRLS literacy 2016 Progress in international Reading literacy study 2016: South African Children’s Reading literacy achievement. Pretoria: Centre for Evaluation and Assessment.
Jahromi, L. B., & Stifter, C. A. (2008). Individual differences in preschoolers’ self-regulation and theory of mind. Merrill-Palmer Quarterly, 54, 125–175.
Karpov, Y. (2005). The neo-Vygotskian approach to child development. New York, NY: Cambridge University Press.
Moll, L. C. (2014). Vygotsky and education. New York, NY: Routledge.
Møller, V. (2013). South African quality of life trends over three decades, 1980–2010. Social Indicators Research, 113(3), 915 –940. Retrieved from http://www.jstor.org/stable/24719543
Moller, V., Roberts, B. J., Tiliouine, H., & Loschky, J. (2017). World happiness report 2017. Pretoria, South Africa: NRF.
Mweete, D. N., Sacha, J., West, J., et al. (2014). Quality of life in individuals living with HIV Aids attending a public sector antiretroviral service in Cape Town, South Africa. BMC Public Health, 676, 1–10.
Mwesiga, E. K., Nakasijja, N., Moore, S., et al. (2015). Depression with pain co-morbidity effect on quality of life among HIV positive patients in Uganda: A cross-sectional study. Health and Quality of Life Outcomes, 13206, 1–10.
Piaget, J. (2001). Readings on the development of children: The stages of intellectual development of the child. New York, NY: W.H. Freeman.
Rapley, M. (2003). Quality of life research: A critical introduction. London, UK: SAGE.
Ruiz, R. (1984). Orientations in language planning. Journal of the National Association for Bilingual Education Vll, 2, 15–34.
Salovey, P. (2004). Emotions and emotional intelligence for educators. In Keys to educational psychology. Cape Town, South Africa: UCT Press.
Salovey, P., & Sluyter, D. J. (1990). What is emotional intelligence? In Emotional development and emotional intelligence: Educational implications. New York, NY: Basic Books.
Schlebusch, L., Samuels, A. E., & Dada, S. (2016). South African families raising children with autism spectrum disorders: Relationship between family routines, cognitive appraisal and family quality of life. Journal of Intellectual Disability Research, 6, 412–423.
Smidt, S. (2009). Introducing Vygotsky: A guide for practitioners and students in early years education. London, UK: Routledge.
Van der Veer, R., & Valsiner, J. (1991). Understanding Vygotsky: A quest for synthesis. Oxford, UK: Blackwell.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1978). Mind in society: The development of higher psychological processes. Cambridge, MA: Harvard University Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1997). The history of the development of higher mental functions. London, UK: Plenum Press.
Vygotsky, L. S. (1998). The collected works of LS Vygotsky. Volume 5 child psychology. London, UK: Plenum Press.
Zeidner, M., Roberts, G., & Maccann, C. (2003). Development of emotional intelligence: Towards a multi-level investment model. Human Development, 46, 69–96.
Zumbo, B. D. (2003). Advances in quality of life research 2001 (Social indicators research Series) (Vol. 17). Dordrecht, The Netherlands: Kluwer Academic Publishers.
Author information
Authors and Affiliations
Editor information
Editors and Affiliations
Rights and permissions
Copyright information
© 2019 Springer Nature Switzerland AG
About this chapter
Cite this chapter
Harrison, G.D. (2019). An EI Approach to Parent Communication Amongst In-Service Teachers. In: Eloff, I. (eds) Handbook of Quality of Life in African Societies. International Handbooks of Quality-of-Life. Springer, Cham. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15367-0_15
Download citation
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-030-15367-0_15
Published:
Publisher Name: Springer, Cham
Print ISBN: 978-3-030-15366-3
Online ISBN: 978-3-030-15367-0
eBook Packages: Social SciencesSocial Sciences (R0)