On the rocky road to efficient behavior management: Can emotional competencies signal the better way?

Philippe Gay; Philippe A Genoud; Gabriel Kappeler; Marilena Cuozzo; Jean-Marc Gomez; Malika S Bapst; Marina Fiori

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1049617

On the rocky road to efficient behavior management: Can emotional competencies signal the better way?

Front Psychol. 2022 Dec 21:13:1049617. doi: 10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1049617. eCollection 2022.

Authors

Philippe Gay¹, Philippe A Genoud², Gabriel Kappeler¹, Marilena Cuozzo¹, Jean-Marc Gomez³, Malika S Bapst¹, Marina Fiori⁴

Affiliations

¹ Haute Ecole Pédagogique Vaud, UER EN, Lausanne, Switzerland.
² Université de Fribourg, Fribourg, Switzerland.
³ Haute Ecole Pédagogique du Valais, St-Maurice, Switzerland.
⁴ Haute Ecole Fédérale en Formation Professionnelle, Lausanne, Switzerland.

Abstract

Self-efficacy beliefs in behavior management (SEBiBM) is a key issue for teachers, while emotional competence is a major contributor to professional success and sustainability in this profession. The investigation of the multifaceted nature of these two constructs may be important in order to take a step toward understanding which emotional competence could foster specific aspects of SEBiBM. To explore this issue, elementary school teachers (N = 121, 1st-4th grades) answered the Profile of Emotional Competence, which comprises 12 scores of emotional competencies, and a four-dimensional self-efficacy scale for behavior management in the classroom. Results indicate that intrapersonal emotional competencies, as compared to interpersonal competencies, play a major role regarding self-efficacy beliefs. In particular, multiple regression analyses revealed that higher identification and understanding of personal emotions were associated with better perceived self-efficacy on two aspects of SEBiBM. In addition, using other's emotions predicted proactive involvement of the pupil's parent or caregiver. Results are discussed in terms of their contribution to research in educational sciences and in teacher education, particularly with respect to teachers' sustainability in the profession.

Keywords: behavior management; classroom management; elementary school; emotional competencies; identification of emotions; understanding of emotions.