Emotional intelligence among nurse teachers and the relationship with students’ motivation, resilience, and emotional intelligence levels among nursing students in Jordan

Abstract

Literature suggests that emotional intelligence (EI) of the teacher may have a significant influence on the development of the relationship teachers have with students as well as the students’ learning. This is true for teachers who make positive difference to students, in terms of motivation, resilience and students’ EI (Curci et al. 2014, Benson et al. 2014). However, to date, no research has explored the levels of EI amongst nurse teachers, nor nursing students in Jordan. The aim of this study is to explore the level of Emotional Intelligence (EI) among nursing teachers and assess whether this has a relationship with the students’ motivation, resilience, and EI in Jordan

Methodology
Sample: The target population of this study was nursing teachers and nursing students. This is a three-phase design study. Phase One: A cross sectional survey to measure teachers’ EI. Phase Two: A longitudinal design measured the difference in student nurse’s EI, motivation, and resilience from the beginning to the end of one academic year. In addition, the study explored the relationship between the nursing teacher’s EI and student nurse’s EI, motivation, and resilience. Phase Three: A qualitative method was employed. For this phase, focus groups were arranged with nursing students and nurse teachers to explore their clinical experience and what they think enhanced their experience.

Data Collection Tools
In Phase One, a survey questionnaire was used to measure teacher’s EI. The Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale (Schutte et al. 1998) was used. Phase two, a survey questionnaire was used to collect the data, and it included three measures. The Schutte Emotional Intelligence Scale (Schutte et al. 1998), Students’ motivation toward science learning (SMTSL) (Tuan et al. 2005), and the Resilience Scale (RS14) (Wagnild 2010). In Phase Three, qualitative data was gathered from focus group interviews with nurse teachers and nursing students, using semi-structured interviews.

Findings
Phase 1: the results showed that teachers had moderate to high EI scores.
Phase 2: The results provided statistical evidence that student’s EI, motivation, and resilience improved from the beginning of the academic year to the end of the year. Moreover, the results showed that the nurse teachers’ EI has a positive relationship with nursing students’ EI and motivation. However, there was no statistical significant relationship found between teachers’ EI and nursing students’ resilience.
Phase 3: The results from the qualitative analysis described the students’ journey and how it started with uncertainty, stress, and worries, and developed to gaining a certain amount of confidence, understanding, and maturity. The results that evolved from the nurse teachers’ focus groups detailed the extent to which the daily interaction with the students affected the nurse teachers as much as it affected the nursing students.

Recommendations
The recommendations of the study are to integrate EI in the nursing school’s curriculum in nursing schools in Jordan, add EI training for the preparation course for nurse teachers and nurses in clinical practice. And finally, more research is needed to study EI within nurse education programs, in Jordan.

Date of Award	Jun 2023
Original language	English
Supervisor	Karen Kirby (Supervisor) & Owen Barr (Supervisor)