In recent decades, there has been increasing focus on the role of formal education in empowering students' social and moral development. A wealth of research evidence has shown that helping students to develop their social and emotional competencies can encourage students' personal growth and can also yield benefits including increased student engagement and decreased levels of drop-out. However, much of what has been previously published in this field has focused on younger students, and there has been a lesser focus on third level students and educators. Therefore, there is a notable need for a single volume that synopsises the research that has been conducted pertaining to emotional and social skills development in third level learning environments.
The key features of this text are a synopsis of key theories and research findings related to emotional intelligence and education; an outline of potential solutions to the most prevalent barriers that have been found with respect to encouraging emotional and social skills development in third level settings; and the provision of a tool-kit of simple exercises for use in third level educational settings, that are designed to help students develop a range of key aspects of emotional intelligence. There are both financial and pedagogical incentives for third-level colleges to invest in the provision of students' social skills development. Therefore, the primary focus of this book is to help students and educators reach their maximum potential, and, in doing so, help encourage the development of emotionally intelligent colleges.