Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to examine the efficacy of the Self-Science program
in improving the emotional intelligence and academic achievement of upper
elementary students. The study was implemented in grades 4, 5, and 6 in one
private school with a sample size of 39 elementary students. The students’ age
ranged between 8 -12 years. Self-Science was the program adopted to determine
whether emotional intelligence and academic achievement could be improved. The
participants’ emotional intelligence was assessed using the Six Seconds Emotional
Intelligence Assessment Youth Version (SEI-YV), and the students’ school grades
served as achievement data. An exploratory pretest/posttest design was adopted to
evaluate the effectiveness of the Self-Science program in improving the students’
emotional intelligence and their academic achievement. Results showed that the
Self-Science program did not lead to significant changes in the students’ emotional
intelligence (F=1.38, p=.24) or in their academic achievement (t= .72, p = .48).
Moreover, no significant correlation was found between emotional intelligence and
academic achievement. Further research on whether emotional intelligence could be
enhanced should be conducted on larger samples and for a longer duration.
