Relationship between Levels of Intercultural Sensitivity and Emotional Intelligence amongst Preservice Social Studies Teachers

Abstract

This study focused on the levels of intercultural sensitivity and emotional intelligence demonstrated by pre-service Social Studies teachers' and sought to explore the relationship between the two variables. The study used a correlational survey research design. The sample consisted of 274 pre-service Social Studies teachers who were in different years of study. The data were collected using the “Intercultural Sensitivity Scale”, “Emotional Intelligence Scale”, and a “Personal Information Form”. The data were analyzed using the independent samples T-test and one-way Analysis Of Variance (ANOVA). The correlation co-efficient was also computed to identify the relationship between intercultural sensitivity and emotional intelligence. The analysis results showed that the intercultural sensitivity of preservice Social Studies teachers' differed significantly according to gender and them having friends from different countries or cultures; while their emotional intelligence differed significantly according to having friends from different countries or cultures. A significant moderate positive correlation was found between intercultural sensitivity and emotional intelligence. Further research may contribute to the literature by studying emotional intelligence and intercultural sensitivity in sample groups from different areas or with different characteristics.