Executive functions are important for academic achievement, but emotional intelligence too

Finding predictors of academic achievement has caught the interest of many educational researchers in the last decades. Two of the variables that have received considerable attention are emotional intelligence (EI) and executive functions (EF). However, only a few studies have considered their influ...

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Bibliographic Details
Authors: Perpiñà Martí, Georgina, Sidera, Francesc, Senar Morera, Fernando, Serrat Sellabona, Elisabet
Format: article
Status:Published version
Publication Date:2023
Country:España
Institution:Universitat de Lleida (UdL)
Repository:Repositori Obert UdL
OAI Identifier:oai:repositori.udl.cat:10459.1/463170
Online Access:https://doi.org/10.1111/sjop.12907
https://hdl.handle.net/10459.1/463170
Access Level:Open access
Keyword:Emotional intelligence
Executive functions
Academic achievement
Primary education
Mathematics
Language
Description
Summary:Finding predictors of academic achievement has caught the interest of many educational researchers in the last decades. Two of the variables that have received considerable attention are emotional intelligence (EI) and executive functions (EF). However, only a few studies have considered their influence in the primary school stage. The aim of this study is to identify which EI components and specific EF are most related to academic achievement and to explore if these relationships vary among subjects. The sample comprised of 180 students between 8–11 years old. We administered the BarOn EI Inventory, tasks of EF and tests of mathematic and linguistic competences. The results showed that EF are better predictors of school performance than EI. Inhibition and working memory were the EF most associated with achievement while adaptability emerged as the EI dimension most linked to it. This study suggests that EI and EF should be consciously developed in classrooms.