Relationships Between Emotional Intelligence, Leadership Style, and School Culture

Literature Review

Ample debate is evident in the literature vis-à-vis the conceptualization of emotional intelligence (Petrides & Furnham, 2003). The ability-based perspective of emotional intelligence was first posited by Salovey and Mayer (1990) and was defined as the ability to perceive emotions, use emotions to facilitate thought, understand emotion, and regulate emotions to achieve goals (Mayer & Salovey, 1997). Their work was rooted in the theories of social intelligence first described as early as 1920 (Thorndike, 1920), and in the subsequent theories of multiple intelligences developed by Gardner (1983).

The trait-based conceptualization was introduced by Reuven Bar-On and is defined as a cluster of non-cognitive skills or competencies that affect one’s ability to successfully deal with environmental demands and pressures (Bar-On, 1997). This conceptualization was further developed by others, and is perceived as a learned ability that can be developed (Nelson, Low & Ellis, 2007; Petrides & Furnham, 2001). The theoretical foundations of emotional intelligence overlap, regardless of whether the construct is conceptualized strictly as an ability-based intelligence or as an array of traits and attributes (Petrides & Furnham, 2003). The distinction between the conceptualization of the construct is significant in conducting empirical research because various measurement methods have been developed, and research results are impacted by the manner in which the construct is conceptualized and operationalized (Petrides & Furnham, 2003; Van Rooy & Viswesvaran, 2007).