Emotional Competence among Scheduled Tribe Students: Enhancing Social and Academic Development

Abstract

This study explores emotional competence among Scheduled Tribe students in Eklavya Model Residential school (EMRS) through in-depth qualitative interviews with 85 students from the Rajasthan (State of India). The research focuses on four domains: emotional perception, regulation, facilitation and understanding. Students demonstrated strong emotional awareness, recognizing and interpreting emotions in themselves and others. They effectively used emotions to facilitate academic tasks, managed emotional challenges, and helped peers to handle the emotional difficulties. The findings emphasize the significance of emotional intelligence in maintaining positive social relationships, academic success, and emotional well-being. These results underscore the need for targeted emotional and social learning interventions in educational settings, particularly in culturally diverse contexts, to enhance emotional competencies and promote community cohesion among marginalized groups.