The Role of Emotional Intelligence in Students' Classroom Participation at the University Level

Abstract

The emotional intelligence of students is important for all sorts of academic and social lives. This study investigated the relationship between students’ social intelligence and their classroom participation which is the cornerstone of students’ academic success. The objectives of this study were to investigate emotional intelligence and to find out the level of students’ classroom participation and the relationship between emotional intelligence and their classroom participation. For this purpose, the hypotheses were formulated, and a quantitative correlation research design was adopted to conduct the study. The research population was all the students of BS at the University of Swat from which five department students were selected and a total sample of 104 students was collected data through a questionnaire. The questionnaire for data collection was comprised of 40 items, 30 items for measuring emotional intelligence, and 10 items to measure the classroom participation of students. The collected data were analyzed following descriptive and inferential statistics. The results obtained from the study showed that students have an average level of emotional intelligence, and they have enough classroom participation at the university level. Furthermore, there was a positive and strong correlation between students’ emotional intelligence and their classroom participation. It was concluded that students’ emotional level is of average level due to multiple factors including effective student relationships and the encouragement of teachers to participate in classroom learning activities which are positively linked with their emotional intelligence. Therefore, the study recommended that teachers further work on the emotional development of students, and provide them with a conducive learning environment, proper care and training are required for students at the home level and their suggestions and opinions need to be welcome at home and in the family matter that will further enhance their emotional intelligence level and ultimately will lead towards effective classroom participation that will guarantee the success of their learning.