1. education
2. english as a second language

I
R
S www.irss.academyirmbr.com
S International Review of Social Sciences
June 2015
Vol. 3 Issue.6
The Relationship between Iranian EFL Teachers’ Critical
Thinking Ability and Emotional Intelligence and Their
Professional Success
MOUSSA AHMADIAN
Associate Professor, Dept. of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities, Arak University
Arak 38156-8-8349, PO. Box: 879, Iran
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: +989181611261
SEYYEDEH-MAHSA AMINI
Ph.D. Candidate, Dept. of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities, Arak University
Arak 38156-8-8349, PO. Box: 879, Iran
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: +989125423995
LEILA BAHRAMI
Ph.D. Candidate, Dept. of English Language and Literature, Faculty of Humanities, Arak University
Arak 38156-8-8349, PO. Box: 879, Iran
E-mail: [email protected]
Tel: +989139354984
Abstract
Thought and emotions are the inseparable characteristics of human beings that can influence personal life,
job performance, and success. Regarding this fact, the present study aims to examine the relationship
between EFL Teachers’ Critical Thinking Ability and Emotional Intelligence and their Professional
Success. To this end, 50 EFL teachers from language institutes were selected to collect data using the
Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Assessment, the Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso Emotional Intelligence Test,
and the Successful Iranian EFL Teacher Questionnaire. The correlational analyses through SPSS revealed
a significant relationship between EFL teachers’ critical thinking and their professional success, and
between their emotional intelligence and professional success. The findings of the study may have
implications for language education.
Key Words: Critical Thinking, Emotional Intelligence, Professional Success, EFL Teachers, Correlational
Study.
Introduction
There are substantial evidence from recent research that teachers have great potentials to affect their
students‘ educational life (e.g. Anderson, 2004). What a teacher does or says can influence the development
of educational process; therefore, teacher‘s characteristics, behaviors, skills, and abilities can have positive
or negative impacts on students‘ motivation, skills development, and success (Lenka & Kant, 2012). Affect
and attitudes can be influenced by emotional intelligence (Hughes, Thompson, & Terrell, 2009). This
means that emotional intelligence (EI), which is the ability to cope with emotions, can contribute to the
ISSN 2309-0081
Ahmadian, Amini & Bahrami (2015)
256
I
R
S www.irss.academyirmbr.com
S International Review of Social Sciences
June 2015
Vol. 3 Issue.6
positive affect and attitudes of teachers in their academic performance and professional development
(Lenka & Kant, 2012).
Emotional intelligence is "an array of noncognitive capabilities, competencies, and skills that influence
one's ability to succeed in coping with environmental demands and pressures" (Bar-On, 2004, p.111). These
capabilities and skills are required for controlling stress and conflict, and for academic success as well
(Brackett & Katulak, 2007). For professional success of teachers, not only the teachers‘ knowledge of the
course is required but also emotional intelligence, which is a combination of thinking and feeling, is also
needed (Mehmood, Qasim, & Azam, 2013). While satisfaction is a leading factor in reaching success in
teachers‘ profession, higher level of emotional intelligence in teachers make them more contented and
satisfied with their job (Darling-Hammond, 2001).
Furthermore, in today‘s world flooded with information, critical thinking ability (CTA) seems to be crucial
for EFL teachers to perform well in evaluating and using information. The role of critical thinking as one of
the facets of professional quality of teachers is prominent (Birjandi & Bagherkazemi, 2010). Elder (1997)
claims that the cognitive or thinking component is the key to other functions of human mind; accordingly,
critical thinking is the link between cognition and emotions in the emotionally intelligent person and any
investigation of emotional intelligence can also include critical thinking (Elder, 1997).
To date, fewer studies have been done on the relationship between critical thinking and EFL teachers‘
professional success (TPS) (e.g. Birjandi & Bagherkazemi, 2010) or between emotional intelligence and
EFL teachers‘ professional success (e.g. Hashemi, 2008), but none of which has attempted to investigate
both in a single study. The present study, thus, attempts to shed light on the relationship between emotional
intelligence and EFL teachers‘ professional success, and between critical thinking ability and EFL teachers‘
professional success.
Review of the Related Literature
Emotion and intelligence are the inseparable and unique characteristics of human beings. These two
concepts have come close to each other by the theory of emotional intelligence (EI) (Salovey & Mayer,
1990). The notion of EI refers to Gardner‘s (1983) concept of personal intelligences in multiple
intelligences theory. Salovey and Mayer (1990) define emotional intelligence as "the subset of social
intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and other's feelings and emotions, to discriminate
among them, and to use the information to guide one's thinking and action" (p. 189). Then, Goleman (1995)
extended the concept of Emotional Intelligence to ―abilities such as being able to motivate oneself, and
persist in the face of frustration, to control impulses and delay gratification; to regulate one‘s moods and
keep distress from swapping the ability to think; to emphasize and to hope‖ are the demonstrations of
Emotional Intelligence (p. 34). Lynn (2005) describes EI as the knowledge of managing our behavior with
others in order that we truly convey our intentions. Lynn believes that EI influences individual‘s personal
life, job performance, and success.
Zeidner, Matthews, and Roberts (2009) assert that EI has two different aspects: one deals with interpersonal
intelligence which is the social aspect of it; the other copes with the intrapersonal intelligence which is the
internal aspect of EI. Lynn (2005) characterizes emotion as having three different components: cognitive,
physiological, and behavioral components. The cognitive component of emotion includes the effects that
thought, expectations, and beliefs have on the emotional state. The physiological component is the
immediate physiological reaction of the body. The behavioral component is the nonverbal expression of
emotions. In her model, emotional intelligence comprises five components as:
ISSN 2309-0081
Ahmadian, Amini & Bahrami (2015)
257
I
R
S www.irss.academyirmbr.com
S International Review of Social Sciences





June 2015
Vol. 3 Issue.6
Self-awareness and self-control: the ability to become aware of oneself and to make use of that ability
to control emotions,
empathy: the ability to consider others‘ standpoint,
Social expertness: the ability to collaborate and resolve conflict with others,
Personal influence: the ability to deal with your internal world and the external world around you, and
Mastery of purpose and vision: the ability to know your life‘s direction and what you want to do in
your life (Lynn 2005, pp. 39-40).
Salovey and Mayer (1990) describe the concept of emotional intelligence in detail. Figure 1 shows the
conceptualization of the emotion.
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
APPRAISAL AND
EXPRESSION OF
EMOTION
SELF
OTHER
VERBAL
NONVERBAL
REGULATION
OF EMOTION
IN SELF
NONVERBAL
PERCEPTION
IN OTHER
UTILIZATION
OF EMOTION
FLEXIBLE CREATIVE REDIRECTED MOTIVATION
PLANNING THINKING ATTENTION
EMPATHY
Figure1: Conceptualization of emotion
Adopted from Salovey and Mayer (1990, p. 190)
In the above authors‘ view of conceptualization, emotional intelligence embraces the precise appraisal and
expression of feelings. Emotions can be appraised and expressed verbally through language. Non-verbal
communication of emotions can take place through facial expressions. Perceptual ability in understanding
emotions can be extended from intrapersonal emotions to interpersonal emotions. The appearance of
emotions toward others can be shown through facial expression and empathy, which is the ability to
understand another‘s sentiment. Emotional intelligence encompasses the ability to regulate, monitor, and
evaluate emotions in self and in others. The regulatory system can perform consciously or quite
automatically. The utilization of emotion and its components can be described, according to Salovey and
Mayer (1990), as follows:
First, emotion swings may facilitate the generation of multiple future plans [flexible planning]. Second,
positive emotion may alter memory organization so that cognitive material is better integrated and diverse
ideas are seen as more related [creative thinking]….Third, emotion provides interrupts for complex
systems, ―popping‖ them out of a given level of processing and focusing them on more pressing needs.
Moods such as anxiety and depression, for example, may focus attention on the self [redirected
attention]….Finally, emotions and moods may be used to motivate and assist performance at complex
intellectual task [motivation]… (pp. 198-199).
ISSN 2309-0081
Ahmadian, Amini & Bahrami (2015)
258
I
R
S www.irss.academyirmbr.com
S International Review of Social Sciences
June 2015
Vol. 3 Issue.6
With regard to the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and social aspects of teaching, teachers require a high level
of emotional intelligence in order to be successful (Syiem, 2012). Pugh (2008) emphasizes the weight of EI
in professional standards for teachers. Most successful teachers and higher achievers make use of their
emotional intelligence (Hughes, Thompson, & Terrell, 2009).
Tamblyn (2000) declares that successful teachers have some characteristics, personality features, and
qualifications. They have subject competency, the ability to create motivation in learners, ability in flexible
adapting of the materials with regard to their students‘ needs, risk-taking skills, respect for learners, warmth
and a sense of humor, and self-esteem and satisfaction with their profession. Moafian and Pishghadam
(2009) consider teaching accountability, interpersonal relationships, attention to all, examination,
commitment, learning boosters, creating a sense of competence, teaching boosters, physical and emotional
acceptance, empathy, class attendance, and dynamism as the features of successful teachers.
Edannure (2010) investigated the presence of EI in teachers and its effect on their profession. S/he found
that teachers are average in terms of having EI but the most successful teachers make more use of their EI.
A number of scholars (e.g. Romanelli, Cain, & Smith, 2006; Ganizadeh & Moafian, 2010; and Mehmood,
Qasim, & Azam, 2013) studied the effect of Emotional Intelligence of teachers on their academic and/or
professional success and found a significantly positive relationship between them. However, Hashemi
(2008) arrived at no significant relationship between Iranian EFL teachers‘ EI and their professional
success. Conversely, Khodadady (2012) hit upon a negative relationship between teachers‘ EI and their
success.
Teachers have a prominent role in providing opportunities for critical thinking and the end goal of
education is to learn to think critically (Buskist & Irons, 2008). As Paul (1990, p.4) states, ―[c]ritical
thinking is disciplined, self-directed thinking which exemplifies the perfections of thinking appropriate to a
particular mode or domain of thought‖. Fisher (2001) depicts critical thinking as a skilful activity that is
clear, relevant, adequate, and coherent and requires interpretation and evaluation of information. Halpern
(2003) illustrates critical thinking as follows:
Critical thinking is the use of those cognitive skills or strategies that increase the probability of a desirable
outcome. It is used to describe thinking that is purposeful, reasoned, and goal directed—the kind of
thinking involved in solving problems, formulating inferences, calculating likelihoods, and making
decisions, when the thinker is using skills that are thoughtful and effective for the particular context and
type of thinking task (p.6).
Cody (2006) asserts that there is little congruence on the definition of critical thinking and the best way to
prevail over the debate on its definition is to describe the aspects of the concept of critical thinking.
Lawrence et al. (2008) emphasize that there is no agreed upon an exact definition of critical thinking.
Critical thinking is ―to make sound judgments based on careful weighing of evidence‖ (Buskist & Irons,
2008, p. 56). Critical thinking skills are cognitive skills that include analysis, interpretation, evaluation,
inference, explanation, and self-regulation (Facione, 2010).
Critical thinking, according to Willingham (2007), means assessing evidence to believe something,
observing an area under discussion from manifold viewpoints, employing reasoning, decision-making, and
problem-solving. Moreover, Edman (2008) states that critical thinking is ―evaluative meta-cognition…that
is, thinking about one‘s thinking to make that thinking better‖ (p.45). As Moon (2008) asserts, ―… critical
thinking is not just a cognitive process, but is linked with expression and action and the various capacities
that become relevant‖ (p. 9).
Critical thinking enables teachers to make informed decisions in their profession (Gambrill & Gibbs, 2009).
Having ample content knowledge is a prerequisite for being able to think critically (Willingham, 2007).
ISSN 2309-0081
Ahmadian, Amini & Bahrami (2015)
259
I
R
S www.irss.academyirmbr.com
S International Review of Social Sciences
June 2015
Vol. 3 Issue.6
Birjandi and Bagherkazemi (2010) explored the relationship between Iranian EFL teachers‘ critical
thinking and their professional success and discovered a significant positive relationship; that is, teachers
with high levels of critical thinking are more successful in their profession. Afshar and Rahimi (2014)
investigated the relationship between critical thinking and Emotional Intelligence and ascertained a
significant positive relationship. Hence, the present study attempts to provide further insights into the
interconnection between EFL teachers‘ emotional intelligence, their critical thinking ability, and their
professional success.
Study Research Questions
Based on what mentioned before, the research attempts to find answers to the following questions:
1. Is there any significant relationship between Iranian EFL teachers‘ critical thinking and their professional
success?
2. Is there any significant relationship between Iranian EFL teachers‘ emotional intelligence and their
professional success?
To provide more objective answers to the above questions, the following hypotheses were constructed to be
tested out.
1. There is no significant relationship between Iranian EFL teachers‘ critical thinking and their professional
success.
2. There is no significant relationship between Iranian EFL teachers‘ emotional intelligence and their
professional success.
Participants
The participants of the study were 50 EFL male and female teachers at English language institutes in
Zanjan and Isfahan, Iran. They were M.A. holders of translation studies, English language and literature,
and teaching English as a foreign language. They were chosen randomly based on their years of experience
in teaching, 3 to 7 years, and based on their ages, 27 to 32 years.
Instrumentation
To carry out the design and to answer the research questions, three instruments were used to obtain
measures of the Iranian EFL teachers' critical thinking ability, emotional intelligence, and professional
success; they are as follows:
(I) Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA)
The Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA) measures individual‘s critical thinking skills.
The instrument requires test takers to evaluate reading passages that include problems, statements,
arguments, and interpretations (Watson & Glaser, 2012, p.3). The WGCTA measures gains in critical
thinking abilities, predicts success in a number of occupations, and determines the relationship between
critical thinking ability and other abilities or traits (Watson & Glaser, 2012, p. 8).
This test comprises 80 questions and can be completed within 45-50 minutes. In addition to the face,
content, construct, and criterion validity of the appraisal, its test-retest reliability has been shown (r=0.81)
by Watson and Glaser (2012, p.24). Therefore, the test proves to be validated for measurement of
individual's CT.
ISSN 2309-0081
Ahmadian, Amini & Bahrami (2015)
260
I
R
S www.irss.academyirmbr.com
S International Review of Social Sciences
June 2015
Vol. 3 Issue.6
(II) Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso Emotional Intelligent Test (MSCEIT)
The MSCEIT is a 141-question self-evaluation ability-based test developed by John Mayer, Paul Salovey,
and David Caruso in 2002; it measures the four branches of the emotional intelligence, namely perceiving
emotions, facilitating thought, understanding emotions, and managing emotions. Due to the ability-based
structure of the MSCEIT, it was selected over the Bar-On emotional quotient inventory (EQi) (1997) and
the Goleman emotional intelligence inventory (ECI- 360) (1998). The Bar-On EQi is a self-report scale that
includes other attributes such as self-actualization, mood, and other related qualities. The ECI- 360 is also a
self-report test and asks for other‘s opinions (Mayer et al., 2000). The MSCEIT provides a total EI score,
two area scores, four branch scores, and eight task scores (Mayer et al., 2000). In this study, the total EI
score was used. The MSCEIT takes 30 - 45 minutes to complete. Studies have concluded that the MSCEIT
has content and structural validity (e.g. Mayer, Salovey & Caruso, 2004, p.202). In terms of reliability, the
MSCEIT has found to score full test reliability of .93 for the general category, .91 for expert scoring, and
test-retest reliability for the total MSCEIT score is .86 (Mayer et al., 2004, p.202). Examples of items
included in the above-mentioned questionnaires are provided in Appendix A.
(III) Successful Iranian EFL Teacher Questionnaire (SIETQ)
Moafian and Pishghadam (2009) developed a 47-item questionnaire on the characteristics of successful
Iranian EFL teachers based on the elicited comments and opinions of EFL teachers and learners and also
existing teacher success questionnaires. This questionnaire was utilized to obtain measures of teacher
success through student evaluation. The SIETQ is divided into different parts, namely, teaching
accountability, interpersonal relationships, attention to all, examination, commitment, learning boosters,
creating a sense of competence, teaching boosters, physical and emotional acceptance, empathy, class
attendance, and dynamism.
The results of reliability analysis exhibited that the total reliability of the questionnaire is very high
(Cronbach' alpha = .94) (Moafian & Pishghadam, 2009. p.136).The item-total correlations were also
assessed for all items, ranging from .40 to .62. Correlations were therefore within the acceptable range of
0.30 or greater (Moafian & Pishghadam, 2009). To obtain measures of Iranian EFL teachers' success,
SIETQ seems to be the most comprehensive instrument because it is based on the characteristics of
successful Iranian EFL teachers using comments and opinions of EFL teachers and learners in Iran, and
also existing teacher success questionnaires; moreover, SIETQ has been proved to be highly reliable
(Cronbach' alpha = .94).
Procedure
To obtain measures of teachers‘ critical thinking ability and emotional intelligence, the teachers were given
the Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA) and the Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso Emotional
Intelligent Test (MSCEIT) to fill out. Moreover, these teachers were evaluated through the Successful
Iranian EFL Teacher Questionnaire (SIETQ) at the end of the term.
Results
The purpose of this study was to reveal the degree of association between the critical thinking scores and
professional success of EFL teachers, and also between their emotional intelligence and professional
success. The descriptive statistics (Table 1) indicates that all the 50 teachers who filled out the WGCTA
and MSCEIT and were evaluated through SIETQ were included in the data analysis as valid cases. The
participants‘ scores ranged from 20 to 71 on WGCTA, from 68 to 137 on MSCEIT, and from 37 to 153 on
SIETQ.
ISSN 2309-0081
Ahmadian, Amini & Bahrami (2015)
261
I
R
S www.irss.academyirmbr.com
S International Review of Social Sciences
June 2015
Vol. 3 Issue.6
Table 1 Descriptive Statistics
N
Minimum
Maximum
Mean
Std. Deviation
WGCTA
50
20
71
50.14
11.54
MSCEI
50
68
137
101.50
14.94
SIETQ
50
37
153
99.98
35.47
Valid N (listwise)
50
To test the research hypotheses, Pearson r correlations were used to determine the relationship between the
intended variables. The tabular forms of statistical analyses of data, and their results are as follows.
The first hypothesis states that there is no significant correlation between EFL teachers‘ critical thinking
ability and their professional success. To test this hypothesis, Pearson product moment correlation was run.
Table 2 shows the coefficient of this correlation between total WGCTA and SIETQ scores. The calculated
correlation coefficient is 0.308 which is significant at 0.05 level of significance (r = 0.308, p ≤ 0.05). In
other words, the two variables are significantly positively correlated with each other; thus, the first null
hypothesis is rejected. This finding is better represented in Figure 2, which provides a visual representation
of the correlation.
Table 2 Pearson r Correlation between WGCTA and SIETQ
SIETQ
Pearson Correlation
SIETQ
WGCTA
1
.308*
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
WGCTA
.030
50
50
*
Pearson Correlation
.308
Sig. (2-tailed)
.030
N
50
1
50
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
Figure 2. Scatter-gram of the correlation of WGCTA and SIETQ scores
ISSN 2309-0081
Ahmadian, Amini & Bahrami (2015)
262
I
R
S www.irss.academyirmbr.com
S International Review of Social Sciences
June 2015
Vol. 3 Issue.6
The second hypothesis expresses that there is no significant correlation between EFL teachers‘ emotional
intelligence and their professional success. To test this hypothesis, another Pearson product moment
correlation was run. Table 3 shows the coefficient of this correlation between total MSCEI and SIETQ
scores. The calculated correlation coefficient is 0.352 which is significant at 0.05 level of significance (r =
0.352, p ≤ 0.05). In other words, the two variables are significantly positively correlated with each other;
thus, the second null hypothesis is further rejected. This finding is better represented in figure 3, which
provides a visual representation of the correlation.
Table 3 Pearson r Correlation between MSCEIT and SIETQ
SIETQ
SIETQ
Pearson Correlation
MSCEI
1
.352*
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
MSCEI
Pearson Correlation
Sig. (2-tailed)
N
.012
50
50
*
1
.352
.012
50
50
*. Correlation is significant at the 0.05 level (2-tailed).
Figure 3. Scatter-gram of the correlation of MSCEI and SIETQ scores
Discussion
The results of the analysis revealed that there is a significant relationship between EFL teachers' critical
thinking and their professional success and also between their emotional intelligence and their professional
success. A discussion of prominent findings associated with each research question follows.
The findings of the present study are in the same line with the findings of Birjandi and Bagherkazemi
(2010), who investigated the effects of five aspects of critical thinking on Iranian EFL teachers‘
professional success. They realized that among five aspects of critical thinking, namely, making deduction,
ISSN 2309-0081
Ahmadian, Amini & Bahrami (2015)
263
I
R
S www.irss.academyirmbr.com
S International Review of Social Sciences
June 2015
Vol. 3 Issue.6
recognition of assumptions, drawing inferences, interpreting evidence, and evaluating arguments, the last
three aspects are positively correlated with Iranian EFL teachers‘ professional success. The present study
confirms their findings that critical thinking is positively correlated with Iranian EFL teachers‘ professional
success.
Since many studies demonstrate that teachers‘ critical thinking ability influences nearly all their decisions
concerning their students and classroom management (Gambrill & Gibbs, 2009; Facione, 2010), the
positive relationship between their critical thinking ability and professional success cannot be surprising.
As Brown (2014) asserts, nowadays language teaching is not easily categorized into methods and trends
and each teacher should develop a sound approach to various language classrooms. Therefore, language
teachers need to be critical thinkers to avoid being constrained by ideas of others, to evaluate different
ideas, to examine critically what they are doing in classroom, and, finally, to develop their own sound
approach in various teaching contexts.
The outcome of the present research that EFL teachers' emotional intelligence is positively correlated with
their professional success is in line with the other studies such as Romanelli, Cain, and Smith (2006),
Ganizadeh and Moafian (2010), Lenka and Kant (2012), and Mehmood, Qasim, and Azam (2013). A
possible explanation is that since teachers with high emotional intelligence may be able to manage and
understand their students' feelings better, they can make better pedagogical decisions in their classes and to
devise effective strategies that help them achieve positive outcomes which can, in turn, lead to their
professional success; therefore, teachers high on EI are likely to investigate the issues in the classroom
better and find more creative and effective solutions.
These findings are significant because they show the role of factors like emotional awareness and use of
emotions in problem solving (Mayer et al., 2002) as specifically influencing the teachers' success.
Emotional intelligence by definition enables individuals to understand and control their feelings, understand
others‘ feelings, have empathy, and raise motivation or self-confidence. For this reason, emotional
intelligence levels of teachers are important in effective teacher- student communication, and in achieving
positive work atmosphere and success.
The results of the present study are different from the findings of Hashemi (2008) and Khodadady (2012).
Hashemi found no significant relationship between emotional intelligence and Iranian EFL teachers‘
professional success. Khodadady arrived at a negative relationship between EI and Iranian EFL teachers‘
professional success. The possible explanation for such differences in the findings can be due to the
differences in the contexts of these studies and in the instruments used to obtain data.
Although the present study showed the positive relationship between teachers' critical thinking ability and
emotional intelligence in their success, this relationship should not be overestimated because calculating the
coefficients of determination ( r 2), which gives the proportion of the variance of one variable that is
predictable from the other variable, reveals that only about 9%,(.308) 2, of the variation in teachers‘ success
could be explained by taking into account their critical thinking ability and only about 12%,(.352) 2, by
considering their emotional intelligence. This is not unexpected because teaching is a complex process that
is influenced by various elements and also a wide range of teacher instructional and affective behaviors and
beliefs may shape students‘ judgments of a successful teacher.
Conclusions and Implications
To put it in a nutshell, the findings of this study revealed that EFL teachers‘ ability to manage their
emotions and to think critically relates to their professional success. Therefore, a teacher needs to equip
her/himself with high levels of critical thinking and emotional intelligence to be able to judge and evaluate
ISSN 2309-0081
Ahmadian, Amini & Bahrami (2015)
264
I
R
S www.irss.academyirmbr.com
S International Review of Social Sciences
June 2015
Vol. 3 Issue.6
various information and beliefs systematically and also to manage and understand her/his own and others‘
emotions in order to achieve a hard core around which to shape one's own thinking and reasoning and to be
professionally successful.
The findings of the study may have implications for teachers, teacher trainers, teacher training programs
and students. The findings make teachers more familiar with the factors that can influence their
professional success. By recognizing that teachers‘ EI and critical thinking directly affect their professional
success, teachers, teacher trainers, and teacher training programs can find ways of enhancing teachers‘ EI
and critical thinking in order to be more successful in their profession. By having successful teachers, the
probability of bringing into being successful students will be increased. However, further research is
needed for better generalisation. Also, further research is required to study the other more varied groups of
EFL teachers, to observe if demographic variables are relating, or to use other EFL teachers‘ success
measures.
References
Afshar, H. S., & Rahimi, M. (2014). The relationship among critical thinking, emotional intelligence, and
speaking abilities of Iranian EFL learners. Procedia-Social and Behavioral Sciences, 136, 75-79.
Anderson, L. (2004). Increasing teacher effectiveness. UNESCO: International Institute for Educational
Planning. <http:// unesdoc.unesco.org >
Bar-On, R. (1997). Emotional quotient inventory: Technical manual. Toronto: Multi-Health Systems.
Bar-On, R. (2004). The Bar-On emotional quotient inventory (EQ-i): Rationale, description and
psychometric properties. In G. Geher (Ed.), Measuring emotional intelligence: Common ground and
controversy, 111-142. Hauppauge, NY: Nova Science.
Birjandi, P., & Bagherkazemi, M. (2010). The relationship between Iranian EFL teachers‘ critical thinking
ability and their professional success. English Language Teaching, 29, 1147-1158.
Brackett, M. A., & Katulak, N. A. (2007). Emotional intelligence in the classroom: Skill-based training for
teachers and students. In J. Ciarrochi & J. D. Mayer (Eds.), Applying emotional intelligence: A
practitioner’s guide,1-27. New York: Psychology Press.
Brown, H.D. (2014). Principles of language learning and teaching (6th ed.). New York: Pearson
Education.
Buskist, W., & Iron, J. G. (2008). Simple strategies for teaching your students to think critically. In D. S.
Dunn, J. S. Halonen, & R. A. Smith (Eds.), Teaching critical thinking in psychology: A handbook of
best practices (pp. 49-58). West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Cody, D. E. (2006). Critical thoughts on critical thinking. The Journal of Academic Librarianship, 32(4),
403-407.
Darling-Hammond, L. (2001). The challenge of staffing our schools. Educational Leadership, 58, 12–17.
Edannur, S. (2010). Emotional intelligence of teacher educators. Int J Edu Sci, 2(2), 115-121.
Edman, L. R. O. (2008). Are they ready yet? Developmental issues in teaching thinking. In D. S. Dunn, J.
S. Halonen, & R. A. Smith (Eds.), Teaching critical thinking in psychology: A handbook of best
practices (pp. 35-48). West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Elder, L. (1997). Critical thinking: The key to emotional intelligence. Journal of Developmental Education,
21(1), 40-42.
Facione, P. A. (2010). Critical thinking: What it is and why it counts. Millbrae, CA: Measured Reasons and
the California Academic Press.
Fisher, A. (2001). Critical thinking: An introduction. Cambridge: Cambridge University Press.
Gambrill, E., & Gibbs, L. (2009). Critical thinking for helping professionals: A skills-based workbook (3rd
ed.). Oxford: Oxford University Press.
Gardner, H. (1983). Frames of mind. New York: Basic books.
ISSN 2309-0081
Ahmadian, Amini & Bahrami (2015)
265
I
R
S www.irss.academyirmbr.com
S International Review of Social Sciences
June 2015
Vol. 3 Issue.6
Ghanizadeh, A., & Moafian, F. (2010). The role of EFL teachers‘ emotional intelligence in their success.
ELT Journal, 64(4), 424-435.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam.
Goleman, D. (1998). Working with emotional intelligence. New York: Bantam.
Halpern, D. F. (2003). Thought and knowledge: An introduction to critical thinking (4th ed.). New Jersey:
Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
Hashemi, M. (2008). On the role of teachers’ emotional intelligence in their pedagogical success.
Unpublished M.A. Thesis. Tehran: Allame Tabatabaee University.
Hughes, M., Thompson, H. L., & Terrell, J. B. (2009). Handbook for developing Emotional and social
intelligence: Best practices, case studies, and strategies. CA: Pfeiffer.
Khodadady, E. (2012). Emotional intelligence and its relationship with English teaching effectiveness.
Theory and practice in language studies, 2(10), 2061-2072.
Lawrence, N. K., Serdikoff, S. L., Zinn, T. E., & Baker, S. C. (2008). Have we demystified critical
thinking? In D. S. Dunn, J. S. Halonen, & R. A. Smith (Eds.), Teaching critical thinking in psychology:
A handbook of best practices (pp. 23-34). West Sussex: Blackwell Publishing Ltd.
Lenka, S. K., & Kant, R. (2012). Emotional intelligence of secondary school teachers in relation to their
professional development. Asian Journal of Management Sciences and Education, 1(1), 90-101.
Lynn, A. B. (2005). The EQ difference: A powerful plan for putting emotional intelligence to work. NY:
AMACOM.
Mayer, J.D., Caruso, D., & Salovey, P. (2000). Selecting a measure of emotional intelligence: The case for
ability testing. In R. Bar-On & J. D. A. Parker (Eds.). Handbook of emotional intelligence, 320-342.
New York: Jossey-Bass.
Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. R. (2002). Mayer-Salovey-Caruso emotional intelligence test.
(MSCEIT). User’s Manual. North Tonawanda, NY: Multi-Health Systems.
Mayer, J. D., Salovey, P., & Caruso, D. R. (2004). Emotional Intelligence: theory, findings and
implications. Psychological Inquiry, 15 (3), 197-215.
Mehmood, T., Qasim, S., & Azam, R. (2013). Impact of emotional intelligence on the performance of
university teachers. International Journal of Humanities and Social Science, 18 (3), 300-307.
Moafian, F. & Pishghadam, R. (2009). Construct validation of a questionnaire on characteristics of
successful EFL teachers, Pazhuhesh-e Zabanhe-ye Khareji Journal, 54,127-142.
Moon, J. (2008). Critical thinking: An exploration of theory and practice. London and New York:
Routledge.
Paul, R. W. (1990). Critical thinking: What, why, and how. In A. J. A. Binker (Eds.), Critical thinking:
What every person needs to survive in a rapidly changing world (pp. 1-25). CA: Center for Critical
thinking and Moral Critique, Sonoma State University.
Pugh, E. V. (2008). Recognizing emotional intelligence: Professional standards for teaching. Practitioner
Research in Higher Education, 2(1), 3-12.
Romanelli, F., Cain, J., & Smith, K. M. (2006). Emotional intelligence as a predictor of academic and/or
professional success. American Journal of Pharmaceutical Education, 70(3), 1-10.
Salovey, P., & Mayer, J.D. (1990). Emotional intelligence. Imagination, Cognition, and Personality, 9,
185-211.
Syiem, I. (2012). Emotional intelligence: Why it matters in teaching. IOSR Journal of Humanities and
Social Science, 2(2), 42-43.
Tamblyn, P. (2000). Qualities of success: Lessons from a teacher career. Education Canada, 40(1): 16–19.
Watson, G., & Glaser, E. (2012). Watson–Glaser critical thinking appraisal: User-guide & technical
manual. England: Pearson.
Willingham, D. T. (2007). Critical thinking: Why is it so hard to teach? American Educator, 8-19.
Zeidner, M., Matthews, G., & Roberts, R. D. (2009). What we know about Emotional Intelligence: How it
affects learning, work, relationships, and our mental health. Cambridge: Massachusetts Institutes of
Technology.
ISSN 2309-0081
Ahmadian, Amini & Bahrami (2015)
266
I
R
S www.irss.academyirmbr.com
S International Review of Social Sciences
June 2015
Vol. 3 Issue.6
Appendix A
Samples of the Items in the WGCTA and MSCEIT Questionnaires
(I) Watson-Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal (WGCTA)
Directions
An assumption is something presupposed or taken for granted. When you say, ‗I‘ll be a qualified solicitor
in two months‘, you take it for granted that you will be alive in two months, that you will pass the relevant
examinations, and similar things.
Below are a number of statements. Each statement is followed by several proposed assumptions. You are to
decide for each assumption whether a person, in making the given statement, is really making that
assumption i.e., taking it for granted, justifiably or not.
If you think that the given assumption is taken for granted in the statement, mark ‗YES‘ under ‗Assumption
made‘ in the proper place on the answer sheet. If you think the assumption is not necessarily taken for
granted in the statement, mark ‗NO‘ in the space under ‗Assumption made‘. Remember to judge each
assumption independently. Below is an example.
Statement:
Proposed assumptions:
‗The proper aim of education in a free society is to prepare the individual to make wise decisions.‘
1. People who have been educated in a free society will not make unwise decisions.
2.
Some education systems in our society do not have the proper aim.
3.
Some kinds of education can help individuals make wise decisions.
4.
In a society
(II) Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso Emotional Intelligent Test (MSCEIT)
Understanding Emotions
Tom felt anxious, and became a bit stressed when he thought about all the work he needed to do. When his
supervisor brought him an additional project, he felt ____. (Select the best choice.)
a)
b)
c)
d)
e)
Overwhelmed
Depressed
Ashamed
Self Conscious
Jittery
ISSN 2309-0081
Ahmadian, Amini & Bahrami (2015)
267