Emotional Intelligence and Leadership Style among Teachers

Abstract

Background and aim: The psychological variables of leadership style and emotional intelligence among teachers across different genders and experience levels have gained attention in education research. This study aims to explore leadership styles and emotional intelligence among male and female teachers with different levels of teaching experience (1– 10 years and above 10 years). Methodology: Teachers were selected from both genders and categorized into two groups based on their years of experience –Group 1 (1– 10 years) and Group 2 (more than 10 years). They were administered with two standardised scales: the Multifactor Leadership Questionnaire (MLQ) to assess leadership styles and an Emotional Intelligence scale to evaluate emotional intelligence. This study seeks to examine how genders and years of teaching experience influence these psychological variables. Results & conclusions: The study found that female teachers scored higher than male in emotional intelligence and in leadership styles such as Contingent Reward and Individualized Consideration. Male teachers showed slightly higher traits in Laissez-Faire leadership. Teaching experience did not significantly influence either emotional intelligence or leadership styles, and no significant interaction was found between gender and experience,