Read the article "Are You a Highly Qualified, Emotionally Intelligent Early Childhood Educator" in the Week One Folder. Students should take the Teacher Assessment in the article and write a summary of what you learned about your Emotional Intelligence as it relates to being an early childhood educator.
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[email protected]. National Association for the Education of Young Children www.naeyc.org Categories: Janet Pickard Kremenitzer and Regina Miller Reprinted from the July 2008 edition of Young Children Are You a Highly Qualified, Emotionally Intelligent Early Childhood Educator? 4 Teachers Early Childhood Professional 106 Young Children • July 2008 © T on i L ie b m an Janet Pickard Kreme- nitzer, EdD, is an assistant professor and co-coordinator of the Graduate Program of Childhood Educa- tion in the Department of Early Childhood and Childhood Education at Lehman College, City University of New York, in the Bronx.
[email protected] Regina Miller, PhD, is professor emeritus of early childhood education at the University of Hartford, in West Hartford, Connecticut. For 34 years she prepared undergraduate and graduate students to work with young children in emotionally healthy environments.
[email protected] Are You a Highly Qualified, Emotionally Intelligent Early Childhood Educator? Janet Pickard Kremenitzer and Regina Miller Early childhood educators are a diverse group. Some are veterans, some are new to the field. Some entered the field with a lifelong passion to teach young children, and some came via other careers. Regardless of the pathway to teaching in an early childhood class- room, certain dispo- sitions or attitudes set these educators apart from teachers of older children and adults. Successful early childhood edu- cators need patience and the ability to observe children, behavior, envi- ronments, colleagues, and families and to use what they discover to create an environment that sup- ports children’s learning. This article addresses teachers who work with children from pre-K through grade 3. As teacher educa- tors, the two of us have worked for many years with early childhood student teaching candi- dates, their cooperating teachers, and other teach- ers, paraprofessionals, and administrators in the urban, suburban, and rural settings in which the students are placed (Kremenitzer & Miller 2003). While supervising and teaching seminars for student teachers, we have gained valuable insight into current practices, ranging from the exem- plary to the questionable, and occasionally to the disturbing. We have seen teachers who cross from one end of the spectrum to the other. The following scenario depicts the optimal teaching environment. Young Children • July 2008 107 A warm, caring second grade teacher interacts with individual children, mak- ing sure that each one feels valued and respected. Classical music plays in the background as the children quietly complete their early morning work. Meanwhile, the teacher asks who is buying lunch and who has returned a permission slip. Several schoolwide announcements are broadcast on the loudspeaker. After a period of time passes, the teacher stands along one wall and raises his hand, with all five fingers extended upward. The children in this class glance toward the teacher much like musicians in an orchestra who read their music but always have the con- ductor in their sight. As he slowly low- ers his fingers one at a time, children finish their journal entries, return them to their folders, tidy their desks, push in their chairs, and quietly stand behind them to listen to what will come next. Emotions are an integral part of a teacher’s job and have an impact on teacher effectiveness, behavior, cognition, and motivation (Sutton & Wheatley 2003) as well as on children’s behavior (Emmer 1994). Teaching requires emotion-related competence, as it is high in emotional labor (Hochschild 1983). The term emotional labor relates to the extent to which a worker must express appropriate emotions to excel in her job. People holding jobs high in emo- tional labor report high levels of burn- out (Bono & Vey 2005), and teachers are among the occupational groups particularly at risk (Jackson, Schwab, & Schuler 1986). Beginning teachers are extremely vulnerable, and many leave the field because they find chil- dren’s emotionally charged, problem behaviors difficult to handle (Tye & O’Brien 2002). Because teachers deal with highly emotional situations daily (Maslach & Leiter 1999), having highly developed emotional skills is an abso- lute necessity. While strong emotional intelligence is usually taken for granted in some- one who chooses to become an early childhood educator, unfortunately this is not always the case. Early child- hood teachers need high emotional intelligence to cope with on-the-job Early childhood teachers need high emotional intel- ligence to cope with on-the-job stressors and to serve as positive role models for the children in their care. Ad has been removed. 108 Young Children • July 2008 Recording Classroom Moments for Later Reference Self-assessment is never easy. It is helpful to record some classroom episodes that warrant reflection later on due to their impact on the children. Such an episode might involve you, the teacher, regretting your impulsive response to the difficult behavior of a child in the class. Teachers can draw upon these observations when addressing the ques- tions in the self-assessment activities on pages 109–112. To record classroom moments, jot down some key words at the time that will trigger more detailed responses later; at the end of the teaching day, write more fully about the incident in your emotional intelligence (EI) journal. Or keep a small tape recorder in a pocket and activate it to verbally “jot” observations that you can later develop into more complete thoughts. Regularly recording observations and incidents will become easier and more routine as you begin to experience the value of this practice. stressors and to serve as positive role models for the children in their care. Recent brain research points to the role of emotions in all forms of learning and their close relationship to developmen- tally appropriate practice (Shonkoff & Phillips 2000). In our work, we see a strong correlation also between reflective, emotionally intelli- gent teachers and good class- room management skills. Background on emotional intelligence The field of emotional intelligence (EI) is a rela- tively new and exciting area of study. Peter Salovey and John Mayer coined the term emotional intelligence in 1990, and it has since been popularized by Daniel Goleman (1995). It is part of a contemporary view that looks at intelligence as being made up of many abilities, as opposed to the traditional approach to intelligence that focuses on IQ scores. The Salovey and Mayer model is consistent with both Howard Gardner’s multiple intelligences model (1993), particularly in the domains of intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, and Robert Sternberg’s successful intelligence model (1996). All three models identify abilities that can be developed through practice, aware- ness, and training. Four abilities related to emotional intelligence The Mayer and Salovey (1997) revised model of emotional intel- ligence highlights four branches or abilities, including the abilities to 1. perceive accurately, appraise, and express emotions (for example, pick up facial expressions such as frowning); 2. access and/or generate feelings when they help you to think better (for example, breathe deeply, count slowly to 10, or walk to another part of the room); 3. understand emotions and emotional knowledge, such as labeling how you feel and using appropriate words to help children label their feelings; and 4. reflect on, manage, and regulate emotions to promote emotional and intellectual growth (that is, think first—be proactive instead of reactive in the heat of the moment). Improving preservice students’ emotional intelligence by developing these abilities should be an integral component of preservice teacher edu- cation programs. In addition, raising or reinforcing teachers’ emotional sen- sitivity can be addressed in ongoing professional development sessions. Learning to be more sensitive Looking at each of the four branches individually, teachers can remind themselves about these emo- tional abilities and work to increase their sensitivity by being conscious of their own and others’ emotions in and outside the classroom. Becoming more sensitive means being hyper-aware of important details, such as changes in a child’s life, like illness, a family crisis, or the death of a pet, as one increases in emotional skills (Kremenitzer 2005). Because early childhood classrooms have more than one adult working with the children, teaching-team members can support each other in learning to per- ceive emotions accurately, appraise them, and express them. Teachers can give other classroom team mem- bers daily feedback by creat- ing times for conferencing, e-mailing, leaving notes, and developing nonverbal signals. Trust is an important variable when teaching with others in the same classroom. It allows for con- structive feedback to better meet the needs of the children in the class. To increase sensitivity, teachers ben- efit from creating an EI journal to cap- ture their feelings and experiences (see “Recording Classroom Moments for Later Reference”). Journaling is a very useful tool in learning to help oneself (see Kremenitzer 2005 for a full discus- sion of the process of journaling). Using self-assessment to develop emotional intelligence Teachers can engage in the follow- ing self-assessment and then share the results with colleagues from other classrooms. This is not a complete training, but rather it is an activity that can help teachers begin to develop the hyper-awareness so important in increasing emotional skills. Teaching-team members can support each other in learning to perceive emotions accurately, appraise them, and express them. Young Children • July 2008 109 Teacher Self-Assessment: How Emotionally Intelligent Am I? To use this tool, think about yourself in terms of your work with young children. Consult your emotional intelligence (EI) journal and choose examples from your own classroom experiences to illustrate your thoughts. After completing each section of the self-assessment, review the sug- gestions for moving forward that immediately follow it and engage in one or more. Do this for all four sections. Share and compare your thoughts with a colleague who has a common interest in self-reflection. To maximize your growth, it’s important to allot time for ongoing reflection and discussion —and for celebrating success. Branch One: Perception, Appraisal, and Expression of Emotion As you ask yourself the following questions, choose a letter from a to i (from the scale below) that best characterizes your response. Write