Assessing Emotional Intelligence and the Quality of Life of School Educators in the Reservoir Hills Precinct, Kwazulu-Natal

Abstract

The South African basic educational system has posed a number of new changes amongst others, amendments in curriculum, adaptation to the Fourth Industrial Revolution, poor educator development and Coronavirus stressors. Such changes contributed to physical distress and psychological and emotional outcomes for educators thereby hindering the achievement of sustainable developmental goals. The objective of this study is to ascertain the relationship between emotional intelligence and the quality of life of educators by highlighting how emotional intelligence is a crucial skill for flourishing in challenging times. A quantitative approach was utilised and a sample size of 108 educators from a population of 154 was drawn from 6 schools in the Reservoir Hills precinct of KwaZulu-Natal using the simple random sampling technique. The findings revealed that there is a significant relationship between emotional intelligence and the quality of life of school educators. A self-developed research model in relation to the findings was advocated for key stakeholders in the educational fraternity, thus adding a new contribution to the relationship between emotional intelligence and quality of life, and enhancing the attainment of sustainable development goals.