Review on: "An Intelligent Look at Emotional Intelligence"
Author: Guy Claxton
Submitted by: Dr. Blessy Mathew Savu
Professor: Dr. Maria-Elena Osiceanu
Course: Psychology, within the Psycho-Pedagogy Module
"An Intelligent Look at Emotional Intelligence" is a publication commissioned by the Association of Teachers and Lecturers, authored by Guy Claxton who is a professor of the Learning Sciences at the University of Bristol in the UK. The Association of Teachers and Lecturers is a trade union with over 120,000 members from the educational field, and as such this booklet expresses a recent trend in vision and perspectives over emotional intelligence in the classroom. The criticisms of theories and applications presented in the booklet leave one questioning the act of teaching Emotional Intelligence in classrooms, while at the same time, it propagates the use and awareness of Emotional Intelligence for learning. As such, the 36-page publication scrutinizes emotional intelligence, highlighting the importance of this new trend while as well delineating the weaknesses through 4 distinct sections: the first inspecting the rise of emotional intelligence, the second raising critical questions about EQ, the third analyzing EQ from a scientific perspective and finally the fourth providing conclusions and recommendations for teachers.
"Part One: The Rise of Emotional Intelligence" provides a snapshot of the theory and practices that surround emotional intelligence, tracking its historical timeline, identifying the reasons for its newfound popularity, defining it in relation to other similar concepts, showing how EQ is measured and finally presenting some case examples of how EQ is taught in classrooms. Claxton explains the historic shift from abstract rationality as the defining feature of intelligence to multiple forms of intelligence including emotional intelligence. He does so reflecting how the feminist movement, the work of philosophers, the...