Emotional intelligence of teachers and their openness to new experiences

Abstract

The professional functioning of a teacher, their pedagogical effectiveness and the educational success of students largely depend on their emotional intelligence. Hence, in shaping the behaviour of students and young people, and especially in dealing with problems, an important role is played by the teacher’s way of experiencing the world and their openness to new experiences. The ability to effectively manage emotions prevents excessive levels of stress and, moreover, helps to deal with complicated situations during the lesson without negatively affecting the students in general. Recognizing the importance of this issue, also in the context of this journal, I undertook empirical research. I tried to determine to what extent openness to new experiences can explain the phenomenon of teachers’ emotional intelligence. The obtained results indicate that this is a positive relationship. The more teachers are open to new experiences, their adaptability increases accordingly, the ability to learn the value and importance of stimuli and events, mobilizing them to think and act as well as express their emotions.