Developing Emotional and Social Competencies in Children: Evaluating the Impact of a Classroom-Based Program

The relationship between Emotional Intelligence (EI) and numerous positive outcomes has sparked considerable interest from educators and researchers in training and promoting various emotional and social competencies in youth. The present study evaluated the effectiveness of a new school-based program for elementary school students designed to develop various EI-related competencies in children—the “Umbrella Project.” Five hundred and twenty-nine students (44% boys) who attended six schools in the Waterloo, Ontario area, completed a self-report measure of EI before and after participating in the unique training program. Total EI and a majority of EI subscales showed significant improvement from pretest to post test. Girls also showed higher total EI and interpersonal scores regardless of assessment session. The results are very encouraging and suggest regular classroom-based resources and curriculum activities can foster the development of a cross-section of emotional and social competencies.