1. EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE TRAINING IN HIGHER EDUCATION
International Conference on Emotional Intelligence
Chicago, USA, June 30 – July 1, 2008
Isabella K. Reichel, Ed.D
Speech-Language Pathologist and Audiologist, CCC-SLP/A
Board Recognized Fluency Specialist
Fluency Renaissance Center, NY

2. Challenges of Higher Education
Higher cost of post-secondary education
Increased accountability for producing educated, successful, and well-rounded people
Increased scrutiny for preventing student misconduct, including rioting, hate crimes, campus and sexual violence, substance abuse, and dealing with psychopathology. (Luderman, 2004).

3. Changes in College Students During the Past 50 Years
TV-influenced
Computer literate
More independent of family and religious leaders
Less trusting of government
Higher education becomes a source of providing values, emotional support, and role models (Higgins, 1998)

4. Changes in Higher Education During the Past 50 Years
Methodology
Dialogues and discussions
Team learning
Interdisciplinary approach
Computer as a teaching tool
Curriculum
Connections among disciplines
Women accepted as a powerful force
Policies in the society
Link between theory and practice -- internship
(Higgins, 1998)

5. Changes in Campus Life During the Past 50 Years
Ethnic diversity
Networking with other colleagues
Students’ emotional needs are addressed
Counseling services
Social bonding “to feel connected”
Support of family life (day care centers)
Goal of higher education is to transform lives
(Higgins, 1998)

6. Influence of Emotional Intelligence on Higher Education
EI promotes the academic achievement, student retention in college and successful transition from high school to higher education, (Parker, J. D. A., Summerfeldt, L. J., Hogan, M. J. & Majeski, S. (2004), Vella & Schlatter, 2006)
Based on EI literature, 6 components of social and emotional intelligence influence academic performance and interpersonal skills of students. These components have been modified to higher education, as presented below (Liff, 2003)

7. Self-Awareness and Self-Advocacy
Self-aware students are able to recognize and reflect on
their emotions and understand causes of the emotions, in situations
such as:
Overwhelmed by homework
Anger at a professor
Anxiety due to exam
Disappointment regarding grade
Frustration about being late
Concerns about friends, family, housing, and finances
Deprivation of sleep and nutrition
Students who have self-advocacy skills are more assertive, less demanding.
They have less confusion, moodiness, and displaced feelings
(Liff, 2003)

8. Self-Regulation of Emotions
Allows students to stay on task, focus, think, and perform
Develops coping tools to self-soothe
Prevents substance abuse or other undesirable behaviors
College educators facilitate
the management of students’
emotions by
Discussing expectations
Being approachable
Encouraging students to reflect upon disappointments
(Liff, 2003)

9. Goal Setting Students need to: Set personal and academic goals
Consider contingency and alternative plans for reaching them
Persevere at times of adversity
College professors need to:
Generate motivation,
Provide feedback
Allow students to earn extra points
Provide “hands-on” learning, by interaction and visual stimuli
(Liff, 2003)

10. Self-Monitoring Professors need to:
Reflect honestly on students’ performance, and regroup if necessary
Have good time management
Set up a reward system to encourage students to stay on task
Students need to:
Integrate social, academic, and work-related responsibilities
Minimize distractions by developing delayed gratification (Liff, 2003)

11. Empathy Professors need to: Have good listening skills
Students need to understand the affect of their professors when deciding whether to comment or make a joke in class
Professors need to:
Have good listening skills
Maintain eye contact
Repeat students’ words for clarity
Acknowledge students’ participation
Respect diversity
(Liff, 2003)

12. Social Skills
Students need to develop the ability to:
Maintain relationships, which facilitates student achievements
Collaborate with partners or learning teams
College professors need to encourage:
Open discussions
Critical thinking,
Strong communication skills
Effective persuasion
Assertiveness
Positive faculty-student relationships (Liff, 2003)

13. Interventions for Emotional Intelligence
EI training is becoming more common in higher education in the fields, such as business administration, health care, education, and counseling.
This author will describe how EI training was integrated into graduate fluency disorders courses of a Communication Sciences & Disorders Department (Reichel, 2007; Reichel, 2005; Reichel & St. Louis, 2004).

14. The Reasons for EI Training in Fluency Disorders Classes
Many speech-language pathologists (SLPs) have difficulties managing affective aspects of stuttering (Shapiro,1999; Reichel& St. Louis,2004)
Some SLPs do not understand clients’ feelings and experiences
Many SLPs are not aware of their own negative attitudes toward people who stutter (PWS)
Many SLPs are unable to address their own negative biases toward (PWS)
(Reichel and St. Louis 2007)

15. Methods
The EI training was integrated into 3 graduate fluency disorders classes
47 graduate students participated
14, 19, and 14 students in the 3 classes, during spring, summer, and fall semesters
EI training lasted about 30 minutes within 2-hour fluency disorders classes weekly
The EI training included short lectures, student presentations, role playing, group discussions, and laboratories with PWS
Assessment instruments were presented before and after each course
Open-ended questionnaire about the EI training was presented after the course concluded (Reichel & St. Louis, 2004)

16. Purpose of the Study
The purpose of the study was to determine the effects of the EI curriculum on students’
Self-rating of EI
Changes in attitudes toward PWS
Perceptions of the importance of EI training

17. Curriculum Content
The EI module was based on the theoretical frameworks of Mayer & Salovey (1997), Goleman (1995), and Bar-On (1997).
Definition of emotion and other related concepts (feelings, mood, affect, and emotional intelligence)
Neurophysiology and neurobiology of emotion, and of EI
Autonomic nervous system in emotion
Cognitive-emotional interactions
Relations between emotion and memory
The role of emotions in stereotyping and prejudice

18. Curriculum Content (Continued)
Awareness of one’s own emotions
Individual differences in emotions
Cultural influences on emotions
Development of empathy and sympathy
Emotions of anxiety, fear, anger, embarrassment, guilt, and shyness, and their management in stuttering intervention
Theory of change

19. Curriculum Content (Continued)
Ability to understand emotions of the client
Ability to understand clinician’s own emotions
Ability to manage emotions of the client and self
Models of emotional intelligence
Emotional intelligence and education
Emotional intelligence and health
Improving students’ emotional competencies
Critical evaluation of emotional intelligence
(Reichel & St. Louis, 2004)

20. Emotional Competencies Discussed with Graduate Students
Empathy
Creativity
Flexibility
Motivation
Confidence
Risk-taking
Tolerance of diversity
Optimism
Persistence
(Goleman, 2005; Reichel & St. Louis, 2004)

21. Assessment Instruments
The Emotional Intelligence Scale (EIS)
(Shutte & Malouff, 1999)
The Public Opinion Survey of Human Attributes – Experimental Edition (POSHA-E) (St. Louis, et al, 2001)
The 25 Bipolar Adjective Scale (BAS)
(Wood & Williams, 1976)
Qualitative instrument assessing students’ perceptions of the EI training (Reichel, 2004)

22. Perceived Changes in Emotional Intelligence
On the EIS, none of the comparisons were statistically significant; but there was a trend in a positive direction
Post-test scores were higher in 94% of the items
EIS pre-test ratings were quite high, possibly creating a “ceiling effect,” so that post-test scores could not show much improvement
A large majority of the respondents of the open-ended questionnaire considered EI abilities and competencies to be helpful to them personally and professionally

23. Perceived Changes in Students’ Attitudes Toward PWS
POSHA-E -- statistically significant improvement in the students’ perceived knowledge about PWS; 78% improved knowledge of PWS
56.3% of the students improved their attitudes toward PWS
On the BAS, more “positive” and fewer “negative” responses on the post-test than on the pre-test were measured in 84% of adjective pairs

24. Students’ Responses on Open-Ended Questionnaire
77% perceived EI construct as crucial for SLPs
64% felt that EI helps SLPs to understand clients’ emotions
38% believed that EI helps them to manage clients’ emotions
100% saw improvement in their ability to address affective aspects of PWS
19% believed that EI helps SLPs to understand their own emotions toward PWS
9% believed that knowledge of neurophysiology of emotion helps SLPs to understand stuttering
70% saw an improvement in their emotional competencies

25. Conclusion
Although many EI programs have been developed to deal with challenges in the post-modern society, it is advisable that teachers continue enhancing their students’ emotional and social skills in naturally occurring situations, such as literature, history, and athletics, from a young age to adulthood.
(Salovey, 2007)

26. References
Bar-On, R. (1997). Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory: A measure of emotional intelligence. Toronto, Canada: Multi- Health Systems, Inc.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence: Why it can matter more than IQ. New York: Bantam.
Higgins,. T. (1998). Evolutions in higher education. Momentum, 29, (3), 12—15.
Liff, S. B. (2003). Social and emotional intelligence: Applications for developmental education. Journal of Developmental Education, 26(3), 28—34.
Liptak, J. J. (2005). Using emotional intelligence to help college students succeed in the workplace. Journal of Employment Counseling, 42(4)

27. References (Continued)
Ludeman, R. B. (2004).Arrested emotional development: Connecting college men, motions, and misconduct. New Directions for Student Services, 107, 75—86.
Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence? In Salovey, P. & Sluyter, D. J. (Ed.), Emotional development and emotional intelligence (pp. 3-31). New York: Basic / HarperCollins.
Parker, J. D. A., Summerfeldt, L. J., Hogan, M. J. & Majeski, S. (2004). Emotional intelligence and academic success: Examining the transition from high school lo university. Personality and Individual Differences, 36,

28. References (Continued)
Reichel, I. (2007). Emotional intelligence and stuttering intervention. 10th International Stuttering Awareness Day Online Conference [ J. Kuster, Conference Chair, Minnesota State University, Mankato; For retrieval,
Reichel, I., & St. Louis, K. O. , 2007, Mitigating Negative Stereotyping of Stuttering in a Fluency Disorders Class. In J. Au-Yeung & M. Leahy (Eds.), Research, treatment, and self-help in fluency disorders: New horizons: Proceedings of the Fifth World Congress on Fluency Disorders (pp ). International Fluency Association.

29. References (Continued)
Reichel, I. (2005). Development of emotional intelligence module in graduate fluency disorders courses. Unpublished doctoral dissertation, Nova Southeastern University, Florida.
Reichel, I., & St. Louis, K. O. , 2004, The Effects of Emotional Intelligence Training in Graduate Fluency Disorders Classes. In H-G Bosshardt, J. S. Yaruss, & H. F. M. Peters (Eds.), Fluency disorders: Theory, research, treatment, and self-help (pp. 474—481). Nijmegen, The Netherlands: International Fluency Association/Nijmegen University Press.
Salovey, P. (2007). Integrative summary. In R. Bar-On, J. G. Maree, & M. J. Elias (Eds.), Educating people to be emotionally intelligent (pp. 291—299). Westport, Connecticut, & London: Praeger.
Schutte, N. S., & Malouff, J. M. (1999). Measuring emotional intelligence and related constructs. Lewiston, NY: Edwin Mellen.

30. References (Continued)
Shapiro, D. (1999). Stuttering intervention: A collaborative journey to fluency freedom. Austin, TX: Pro-Ed.
St. Louis, K. O., Fisher, E., Yaruss, J. S., & Lubker, B. B. (2001, November). Reliability of ratings on a public opinion survey of stuttering attitudes. Poster session presented at the annual convention of the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association, New Orleans, LA.
Vella, P., Schlatter, N. (2006). Student retention and success – The emotional intelligence factor. Association for University and College Counseling. December, 7—9.
Woods, C. L., & Williams, D. E. (1976). Traits attributed to stuttering and normally fluent males. Journal of Speech and Hearing Research, 19,