Doctoral Candidate and Supervisor Present Paper on Emotional Intelligence and Quality of Life of School Educators

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School of Management, IT and Governance academic Dr Anisha Ramsaroop and PhD candidate Ms Prashanti Maharaj presented a paper titled: Assessing Emotional Intelligence and the Quality of Life of School Educators in the Reservoir Hills Precinct, KwaZulu-Natal at the International Conference on Business and Management Dynamics.

The conference, which was co-hosted by UKZN, was themed: COVID-19: Reshaping Sustainable Development Goals Implementation in the World.

Ramsaroop and Maharaj’s paper highlighted that emotional intelligence is a crucial skill in the 21^st century workplace as well as for a balanced life. The crisis caused by the COVID-19 pandemic has underlined the need to build and sustain emotional intelligence in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The paper focused on the following SDGs:

•    Goal 3: Good health and well-being

•    Goal 4: Quality education

•    Goal 5: Gender equality

‘The South African basic education system confronts several new challenges, including amendments to the curriculum, adaptation to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, poor educator development and Coronavirus stressors,’ explained Ramsaroop.

‘Such changes contribute to physical, psychological and emotional distress among educators, thereby hindering the achievement of the SDGs,’ she added. Professional and personal concerns have an adverse influence on educators’ quality of life. To remain on track in achieving the SDGs, educators must focus on emotional intelligence.

The quantitative study was conducted with a sample of 108 educators from a population of 154 drawn from six schools in Reservoir Hills.

Maharaj said the findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between emotional intelligence and the quality of life of school educators.

‘We recommend that the key stakeholders in the educational fraternity focus on the emotional aspects which are depicted in our self-developed research model in order to enable educators to thrive in the new normal and to support the achievement of the SDGs.’

Words: Thandiwe Jumo

Photographs: Supplied