Relationship between teachers’ emotional competences and Primary School students’ anxiety, academic performance, and emotional competences

Abstract

Numerous previous studies have highlighted the fundamental role of emotional competencies in teacher effectiveness and student development. However, there are still limited studies that analyze the impact of teachers' emotional competencies on students' well-being, academic performance, and emotional development.  The present study aims to assess teachers' emotional competencies and to analyze their relationship with key variables in primary school students, such as emotional competencies, anxiety, and academic performance. The research includes a sample of 118 teachers and 1,676 primary school students from different schools in Spain. A non-experimental quantitative design was employed, using a descriptive and comparative-causal ex-post-facto method. SPSS software version 28.0 was used for data analysis.  The instruments used included the Emotional Development Questionnaire (CDE-A-35), the Emotional Development Questionnaire (CDE 9-13), the Emotional Competence Observation Scale, the Child Anxiety Scale (CAS), the State-Trait Anxiety Inventory for Children (STAIC) and the global grade point average. The results show that there are no significant correlations between the emotional competencies of the teachers and those of their students in the initial grades, while in the upper grades of primary education, they do show a significant association between the emotional competencies of the teachers and those of their students. In conclusion, these findings underline the importance of emotional competencies in the school context and the need to reinforce teachers' emotional competencies in order to promote the well-being and emotional development of students.

Key words: emotional competencies, anxiety, academic performance, teachers, Primary Education, emotional education.