Teaching Emotional Intelligence in Schools: An Evidence-Based Approach

Abstract

The skills of emotional intelligence, such as recognizing emotions in the self and others, understanding the causes and consequence of emotions, and effectively regulating the experience and expression of emotional responses, are essential for children’s success in school and life. Yet, many children arrive at school lacking these skills, which can impede them from reaching their full potential. This chapter describes RULER, a Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL) SELect approach, to illustrate how the teaching and learning of emotional intelligence can be integrated into the core academic curricula. RULER uses multiple tools to nurture five interdependent skills: recognizing, understanding, labeling, expressing, and regulating emotions. The chapter focuses primarily on emotion regulation skills and on how the tools that RULER uses foster their development. The promise of formative assessments to enhance the teaching and learning of emotional intelligence is also discussed.