Textbooks Content Analysis of Social Studies and Natural Sciences of Secondary School Based on Emotional Intelligence Components

Abstract

The aim of this study is to analyze the content of social studies and natural sciences textbooks of the secondary school on the basis of the emotional intelligence components. In order to determine and inspect the emotional intelligence components all of the textbooks content (including texts, exercises, and illustrations) was examined based on David Goleman's Emotional Intelligence Checklist, consisting of 5 components and 26 sub-categories, by means of content analysis method. The results of the study showed that the most prevailing EI components in the textbooks were social awareness in the texts of social studies, Self-management in the exercises, and social skill in the illustrations; while in natural sciences textbooks' exercises and texts the most prevailing component was that of self-management, yet in the illustrations no EI component was found. The uttermost attention in the texts of social studies in the first grade was drawn to self-management component; while the second and the third grades' texts were chiefly concerned with social awareness component, also in the texts of natural sciences in the first grade mostly motivation component and in the second and the third grades social skill and self-awareness components were tangible. The exercises of all three grades' textbooks of social studies mainly attended to self-management component, while in the exercises of natural sciences textbooks of the first and the second grades self-management component and in the third grade social skill component were mostly dealt with. In the illustrations of the social studies textbooks of all three grades social skill component was mainly tangible. By and large, it can be said EI components in social studies textbooks were prevailing; while in natural sciences textbooks, these components were dealt with superficially.