THE ROLE OF TEACHERS’ EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE IN THE PEDAGOGICAL PROCESS

Abstract

The article examines the role of teachers’ emotional intelligence in the contemporary educational process. The relevance of the study is determined by the growing importance of socio-emotional and communication skills alongside subject knowledge and methodological competence. The aim of the study is to provide a theoretical substantiation of the role of teachers’ emotional intelligence in improving the quality of pedagogical interaction and creating a supportive educational environment. The study is theoretical and analytical in nature and is based on the analysis, comparison, systematization, and synthesis of the scientific literature, as well as structural-functional analysis and theoretical modelling. Based on a comparative analysis of the ability model of emotional intelligence and broader emotional-social approaches, four components that are particularly significant for teaching practice were systematized: emotional awareness, emotional self-regulation, empathy, and social skills. Their integration is theoretically associated with the quality of pedagogical communication, classroom management, conflict prevention, learner engagement, and the psychological climate of the educational environment. The study developed a structural-functional model linking the identified components to reflective, regulatory, interpersonal, communicative, and organizational-pedagogical functions. The findings identify key directions for developing teachers’ emotional intelligence within teacher education and professional development systems. The main limitation of the study is the absence of empirical validation of the proposed model; therefore, the identified relationships require further empirical verification.