Effect of teaching the social-emotional skills on developing these skills

  Introduction: This study surveyed the effect of teaching social-emotional skills on teachers to develop their social-emotional skills.   Method: This research is a kind of experimental design in which 68 elementary teachers (grades 4 and 5) with at least 10 years of teaching experience and bachelor degree randomly assigned into control (18 females, 16 males) and experimental (20 females, 14 males) groups. The Bar-On social-emotional scale (already informed by Samooei) used collecting data. This questionnaire has 90 items in 5 domains (interpersonal, intrapersonal, adjustment, general mood and stress management). Social-emotional skills in the field of interpersonal and intrapersonal skill taught in 10 two-hour sessions to experimental group participants.   Results: Experimental group performance in social-emotional skills and its components were higher than the control group and their difference was significant. There was no significant decrease in social-emotional skills and its components after 4 months.   Conclusion: To be most effective, emotional literacy content and processes should be applied consistently across the curriculum in all grade levels. Earlier steps to operate social-emotional program are to involve teachers with these skills and to promote their social-emotional abilities.