Gender Differences in Teaching Literature Through an Emotional Intelligence Model

Abstract

The study examines one of several variables examined in a 12-week experimental study examining the effect of an ESL (Emotional Social Learning) program on the academic progress of 87 Grade 11 students in two Lebanese private schools. In an attempt to demystify the ongoing generalization that claims that females are more emotionally intelligent than males, this study investigates the relation between Emotional intelligence (EI) scores and gender. The curriculum was unique in that it purported to train skills under the umbrella of emotional intelligence (El), as opposed to the realm of social skills or emotional competency. The intervention program was composed of four literary short stories where instruction carried involved three levels of analysis: informational, conceptual, and ESL. The last level of analysis examined characters, emotional intelligence skills, and traits. The Shutte Social Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) was administered to the participants at the beginning of the program and after treatment. Statistical procedures for analysis were as follows: (1) Descriptive statistics were provided for the purpose of showing the variation in estimated means and standard deviations for each dependent and independent variable across the sample. (2) Paired t-test and independent t-tests to compare significant differences between means of the same group. The research question which attempted to examine the role of gender in attaining EQ traits as measured by Shutte Social Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT) did not show significant differences between females and males in attaining Emotional intelligence. In order to find any correlations that may help students in their studies, it is advised that, in addition to gender, the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic accomplishment be examined.