Emotional Intelligence in Adolescents: Exploring the Role of Private and Government School Environments

Abstract

The present study was conducted to understand if there is a difference in Emotional intelligence of adolescent students with respect to the type of school and gender, The research sample consisted of 300 adolescent students (150 Males and 150 Females) between 16 to 18 years studying in senior secondary government and private schools of Delhi, the participants were selected through convenient sampling method and they were assessed on emotional intelligence scale by Singh and Narain(2014) later students, teachers and parents were also interviewed. The data was analyzed using t test, and qualitative data was understood better through Thematic analysis. The quantitative result exhibit that no significant difference was observed across the two groups (adolescent studying in government schools and adolescent students studying in Private schools of Delhi) in terms of emotional intelligence. Gender difference was observed as Female students reported significantly higher on emotional intelligence compared to Male students (p < 0.001) the qualitative analysis helped in understanding the various underlying reasons for the result, overall the paper gives an insight into whether school type and gender affect the emotional intelligence of adolescents, which could influence educational policies and practices, leading to further recommendations.