Prof: Test kids' emotional IQ - DON'T PUBLISH

2004-08-19 06:48

Alet Rademeyer

Johannesburg - The development of children's emotional and social intelligence should be part of the South African school curriculum.

This is the opinion of Professor Reuven Bar-On, international expert in this area and the "father" of emotional intelligence tests used worldwide.

He is on a visit to South Africa this week and will be lecturing at several universities. He obtained his doctorate at Rhodes University and is currently a professor at the University of Texas in America. He also consults for the University of Illinois.

His research, which has received a lot of international attention since 1995, shows that an individual's emotional intelligence better equips him/her to handle daily challenges on a personal and interpersonal level.

Emotional intelligence is linked to characteristics such as self-worth, emotional self-consciousness, independence, self-actualising, social responsibility, empathy, handling of stress, problem solving, optimism and happiness.

Bar-On said the latest international trend is to look further than cognitive intelligence (IQ) when a person is placed at a particular company or wants to follow a specific career.

"The human being's emotional intelligence and his ability to develop it are becoming more and more important."

He said tests to determine prospective students' emotional intelligence could become important in future to enable them to make the right career choice and to develop into adults who can adapt and change.

In a country such as South Africa, these tests are particularly important for previously disadvantaged students because their school marks are often not a true indication of their true potential, said Professor Kobus Maree of the University of Pretoria.

The tests, which are standardised and take into account a person's gender, age, culture and country where they live, are already available in South Africa.

The idea is to expand on this and train teachers from previously disadvantaged areas to equip pupils with emotional intelligence skills.

Maree is investigating the viability of such a pilot project in South African schools.

Professor Jonathan Jansen, dean of the department of education at the University of Pretoria, said Bar-On's research was of great importance in a world where many education systems were still too focussed on the marks pupils achieved.

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