Early Childhood Education Journal. Vol. 33. No. I.

August 2005 (© 2005)

DOI; 10.1007/s 10643-005-0014-6

The Emotionally Intelligent Early Childhood Educator:

Self-Reflective Journaling

Janet Pickard Kremenitzer*'^

A current interest in education is the growing awareness that the development of social and
emotional skills in children is critical for the foundation of academic knowledge in the
classroom. The early childhood educator is in a position to be a powerful nurturer of the social
emotional development in young children. It is important, therefore, to challenge early
childhood teachers, particularly veteran teachers, to take a closer look at their own social and
emotional skills and to systematically reassess these skills through an emotionally intelligent
"lens". The field of emotional intelligence is a new and exciting area of academic research that
looks at emotional abilities within the following four domains: (1) perception skills; (2)
accessing skills; (3) understanding skills; and (4) regulation skills. This article presents a
userfriendly methodology to assess and enhance the emotional intelligence abilities of teachers,
and thereby impact the abilities of the young children they teach.

KEY WORDS: social-emotional; emotional learning; emotional intelligence; early ehildhood educators;
reflective journaling; abilities training; hyper-awareness; selfappraisal.

A current interest in education is the growing
awareness that the development of social and emo-
tional skills in children is critical for the foundation
of academic knowledge achievement in the class-
room. As evidence of this trend, the Collaborative for
Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning (CASEL)
has produced a guide to help educators select
potential materials from over 80 classroom-based
programs that were reviewed by this organization of
educational researchers (CASEL, 2003). The great
importance of social and emotional learning within
the early childhood community has always been a
vital component in the training and development of
early childhood practitioners and it has been sug-
'University of Hartford, West Hartford, CT, USA.
^Correspondence should be directed to Janet Pickard Kremenitzer,
Llniversity of Hartford, 200 Bloomfield Avenue, West Hartford,
CT 06117-1599, USA; e-mail: kremenitz@hartford.edu
gested that these practitioners, because of the vital
foundational work they do, be considered very
"special" educators and in effect, a model for all
teachers at all levels (Kremenitzer & Miller, 2003).
Good early childhood teachers inherently know
that they are a significant influence on the future
academic and life success of their students because
they have been specifically trained to have a child-
focused view that nurtures social and emotional
development in young learners. However, teacher
sometimes can become complacent in their practice
and unknowingly fall into patterns or habits that they
might not be aware of that could be less than optimal.
It is important, therefore, to challenge early child-
hood teachers, particularly veteran teachers, to take a
closer look at their own social and emotional skills
within the classroom setting and to systematically
reassess these skills through an emotionally intelhgent
"lens". An analogy can be seen in the need for adult
passengers on a commercial airline traveling with

1082-3301/05/0800-0003/0 © 2005 Springer Science+Business Media, Inc.


small children to be instructed by airline personnel
that before one puts an oxygen mask on a child, one
must first place a mask on oneself. Periodically, it is
important to take a look at the key role model for
children in the classroom, the teacher. Toward that
end, this article will present a practical approach for
early childhood teachers to use to re-evaluate aspects
of their practice through the analysis of some of their
own emotional intelligence abilities.
The field of Emotional Intelligence (EI) is a very
new and exciting area of academic study. Peter Sa-
lovey and John Mayer first coined the term emotional
intelligence in 1990 (Salovey & Mayer, 1990) and it
has since been highly popularized to the general
public by Daniel Goleman (1995). It is considered
part of the more contemporary view that looks at
intelligence as a multi-faceted entity versus the tra-
ditional approach implied by a global or "g" score
such as that measured by an IQ test. The Salovey and
Mayer model is philosophically consistent with both
the multiple intelligences model of Howard Gardner
(1993) partieularly the domains of intra-personal and
inter-personal skills, and the successful intelligences
model of Robert Sternberg (1996). All of these
models have the commonality of identifying specific
abilities that have the potential to be developed
through practice, awareness, and training.
AN ABILITY TO BE DEVELOPED:
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE
The Mayer and Salovey (1997) revised model of
emotional intelligence highlights four categories or
"branches" highlighting the following abilities: (1)
the ability to perceive accurately, appraise, and ex-
press emotion; (2) the ability to access and/or gen-
erate feelings when they help you to think better; (3)
the ability to understand emotion and emotional
knowledge; and (4) the ability to reflect on, manage,
and regulate emotions to promote emotional and
intellectual growth.
Looking at each "branch" individually, the tea-
cher can see how important it is to remind oneself of
these emotional abilities and to try and increase one's
sensitivity to be thinking about them when in the
classroom as well as outside. This sensitivity can be
considered being "hyper-aware" of important details
as one increases in skill. As a baseline personal check
the teacher can first look at each branch and using a
focused hyper-awareness strategy reflect upon and
ponder the following questions:
Kremenitzer
Branch One: Perception, Appraisal, and Expression
of Emotion
Questions to ponder:
• Am 1 good at identifying how I am feeling?
• Am I good at identifying how my students are feeling?
• Would most people I know consider me to be perceptive
regarding my emotional state and theirs?
• Am I able to notice when my students are angry, sad, bored
etc.?
• What can I begin to do to increase my perception of
emotions?
Write down your current appraisal of yourself regarding
the abilities found in "branch one" and what you think
you might try to do to increase your abilities here.
Branch Two: Emotional Eacilitation of Thinking
Questions to ponder:
• Am 1 good at identifying emotional swings in myself and
in others?
• Am I able to counsel myself in delaying important decisions
if I am in a negative stale?
• Do 1 try to do creative and interesting projects when I am
in a highly positive and motivated state?
• Can 1 also identify optimal limes for my students to work
on certain projects?
Write down your current appraisal of yourself regarding the
abilities found in "branch two" and what you think you might do
to increase your abilities here.
Branch Three: Understanding and Analyzing Emotions
Questions to ponder:
• Am 1 good at finding the right word(s) to use to express
my feelings?
• Can I help my students to use words appropriately
to express themselves both at positive and negative times?
• Am I good at understanding what causes children to
feel and behave in a certain way?
• Am I good at reminding myself about the different
developmental stages and that sometimes students act
in a more "mature" or "immature" manner and to see the
"whole child" in perspective and not just an isolated event?
Emotionally Intelligent EC Educator
Write down your current appraisal of yourself regarding the
abilities found in "branch three" and what you think you
might do to increase your abilities here.
Branch Four: Reflective Regulation of Emotions
Questions to ponder:
• Am I good when 1 am "caught off-guard" and good at
responding to an unexpected event?
• Am I able to self-regulate my behavior even under
very difficult circumstances?
• Can t model good self-regulation for my students and
use this as a "teachable moment" for how they
could similarly regulate in the future?
Write down your current appraisal of yourself regarding the
abilities found in "branch four" and what you think you might
do to increase your abilities here.
REELECTIVE JOURNALING
Special Highlight on Regulating and Managing
Emotions
The concept of reflective practice and reflective
practitioners has been a part of the education pro-
fession since the writings of Dewey (1933). One of the
chief objectives of reflecting upon what we do is the
hope that we can alter anything that is not working
and make it better the next time. The self appraisal
responses of the questions posed to each of the above
branches should serve as a "mind jogger" for where
the teaeher is functioning now and can serve as a
jumping ofl" point for self-improvement over time.
The initial responses that the teacher made can be
explored further through the use of a specially
designated "emotional intelligence" journal that a
teacher can begin to keep.
I have introduced the concept of developing a
teacher's own emotional intelligence into several of
the teacher preparation courses that I teach at both
the graduate and undergraduate level for initial cer-
tification in elementary education but I believe it is
applicable to teachers at all levels and at all stages of
their career paths. I have used a technique that in-
cludes focused reflective journaling accompanied by
group sharing of experiences as a method My teacher
candidates have found this to be an essential part of
their "bag of tricks" that they need to have as they
begin their careers. These teacher candidates keep a
speciflc daily "focused EI Journal" and post an
example or two each week to Blackboard (Bb) where
I can review and facilitate a classroom discussion of
their self "cases" with the entire class. At the end of
the semester, I have them review all of their EI
notations and to write a meta-cognition essay. Over
the past year, I have had 47 pre-service teachers en-
gage in this practice. One typical reflection from a
student teacher captures the essence of this sentiment.
"t have to admit that at first t did not think that
keeping a journal to track your emotional intelli-
gence was going to be an effective method for me.
1 was very wrong. 1 have learned so much about
myself throughout this process, t feel that t have in
fact developed a keener sense of 'hyper-awareness.'
This is an essential skill for all teachers to possess.
I find that teaching not only can it be very stressful
and busy, but at times, it can be emotionally tax-
ing. By becoming aware of who you are and how
your react, you are better able to become a compe-
tent and professional educator. I find that even in
my personal life, remembering to 'catch myself has
saved me a lot of grief in the end. After spending a
significant amount of time trying to become aware
of my emotional self, I realize that most issues both
professionally and personally are better resolved
when you are truly in a calmer place, such as neu-
tral. To give your self a moment to consciously
make the choice, to get to a different place emo-
tionally, is the key to productive problem solving.
My secret weapon is now being able to control my
emotional response by flipping the switch to neutral
and handling a situation in a coherent and profes-
sional manner."
While the technique of reflective journaling, in
general, is much applied during the pre-service
training of early childhood student teachers it is
usually not continued once the individual becomes a
certifled teacher. Keeping an emotional intelligence
personal journal for several weeks with a particular
"hyper-awareness" focus on the abilities related to
regulating and managing emotions is a recommended
tool for consideration by classroom teachers, partic-
ularly those who are long removed from their initial
pre-service training. I have also worked with in-ser-
vice teachers on maintaining similar journals while
they are teaching. If teachers are "held responsible"
for journaling, even if it is for meeting the require-
ments of a graduate course or in-service professional
development, it can serve as a powerful tool for self-
emotional intelligence training. The following excerpt
comes from a primary grade music teacher who was

taking one of my graduate courses as part of his CEU
professional development requirements:
The students enter the classroom after recess and
they are very loud, still using "outside voices". One
boy is yelling at another boy about being tripped
during the basketball game. Others are complaining
about being sweaty, overly hot, and needing a
drink of water. One girl is screaming at the girl
next to her about crowding her space. Mr. Dwyer,
a first year music teacher, has just returned from
one of the other elementary schools he travels to
each week. He teaches many classes and only sees
each group once a week. He too is hot and sweaty
having been caught up in a road construction de-
tour. In frustration, Mr. Dwyer wants to raise his
voice above theirs but he catches himself and deci-
des to set a better example. He uses hand signs and
positive encouragement to get the students' atten-
tion. The scenario gets even better when Mr.
Dwyer, in a soft tone, explains to the students that
he needs their help in that what he is now doing is
part of something he is learning in a graduate class
he is taking at the local university and this can be
helpful for his own homework. He explains that he
uses the correct behavior to teach the correct
behavior for any situation. Who could teach stu-
dents to be quiet by yelling at them? Mr. Dwyer
also asked them if they remembered how he
stopped and took a deep breath before addressing
the class and asked if they could see that the extra
time allowed him (as it would them) to make the
correct decision about how to behave. The children
were apparently delighted and also very proud to
know that Mr. Dwyer was going to write a para-
graph in his own homework journal about what
just happened and was going to share it with his
university classmates and his own teacher that very
night when he would go to his adult class.
An alternative format that I have used with in-
service teachers is to serve as an EI mentor/coach by
observing them in their classroom, taking scripted
notes, and then having an e-mail "conversation" later
in the day with that teacher. This then serves as
"data" for either a weekly face to face discussion or e-
mail dialogue. A weekly discussion summarized by
one teacher highlighted the following reflection
points:
"We discussed how helpful the scripting was so
that I could be aware of things that may be per-
ceived by others differently from their intention.
For example: the tapping I did on the table to
emphasize a general point for the whole class may
have (based on the transcript) been interpreted as
being directed at a particular student who was sit-
ting in that location and consequently may have
sent an incorrect message to that one student."
"We discussed how I feel that I like to be honest
with students and give them a signal or warning.
Kremenitzer
Rather than pretend to be feeling fine and then
blow up. I prefer to say that they are making me
angry or that 1 am in no mood for nonsense, or
that 1 am crabby today. Then we both know where
we stand, as it is also a place of analysis for me
and gives me time to plan a reaction should the
irritation continue."
"We discussed the awareness of the students as
well. In the script, when the class was interrupted
by an announcement that even the students felt was
ridiculous, we shared a common moment and
thought. By acknowledging the student's comment,
and sharing my own frustration, we drew closer to-
gether in community and were able to go on with
what we needed to do."
This teacher felt that this process was such a
valuable experience for him that he thought that it
would be wonderful if the typically assigned mentors
for new teachers could speciflcally include this type of
hyper-awareness scripting as part of their mentorship
responsibilities. This would be a perfect opportunity
for the Interstate New Teacher Assessment and
Support Consortium (INTASC) to consider for all
new teachers. He was so delighted with this process
that he voluntarily wrote EI objectives for both
himself and his own students into his mandatory
professional development plan for annual review by
his principal. The "habit" of daily reflection and
journaling is an important one for teachers, even
within the reality of a very busy professional life.
Framed as part of a teacher's required professional
development plan will not then be seen as an addi-
tional "burden" on a teacher's time, but rather,
should be seen as a most efficient method for meeting
this requirement. Just as teachers maintain anecdotal
notations on their students, keeping these for oneself
will provide on-going and continuous assessment of
personal progress. Several of the in-service teachers
that I am working with are beginning to maintain
standardized records regarding the social-emotional
and academic progress of their students and we will
analyze the impact that their own emotional devel-
opment has had on their young student outcomes.
Preliminary opinion from anecdotal discussion is that
an increase in a teacher's EI signiflcantly impacts
student learning in a powerful way both in academic
and inter-personal domains.
I believe that schools can similarly provide
training for both their new teachers as well as their
veteran staff (in this ease what is good for the novice
teacher is also good for the veterans) through on-
going professional activities and support that is
dedicated to emotional intelligence development.
This in-service training can be seen as a supplement
Emotionally Intelligent EC Educator
to what is taught in those teacher preparation pro-
grams that include emotional intelligence training
(and hopefully more programs will in the future) and/
or provide this much needed training for those who
have not yet been exposed. A suggested beginning
would be for schools to form "study groups" around
this topic and to utilize existing district personnel
such as school psychologists and guidance counselors
that can be designated as facilitators.
Being able to regulate and manage your emo-
tions within the classroom is an important factor for
effective and successful teaching. Unlike other skills
that a teacher has, the ability to respond to unan-
ticipated and difficult spontaneous situations is
perhaps the most challenging of all. When the time
frame for reflection is short, teaehers must be able to
make a quick emotional adjustment even in the
middle of a most negative situation. Every class-
room teacher knows that there will be many
potentially unstable or transitional moments
throughout the school day, some of which can be
anticipated, but many that will be unplanned. These
range from moving in and out of activities such as a
morning meeting, to going outside for recess, to the
annoying unexpected announcements over the loud
speaker, or fire drills. Accidents ean happen which
require sending a child to the nurse and parents may
need to take a child out of class for an appointment
in the middle of the school day. Children can act
out inappropriately at any given time and cause an
interruption in any lesson. With the Individual's
with Disabilities Education Act's (IDEA) emphasis
on inclusion, children with specific additional needs
also factor into the probability equation that may
call for additional unexpected adjustments on the
part of the teacher. A teacher may be fighting off a
migraine headache or might have come to school
with worries regarding the health of a relative. All of
these "unknowns" can and do occur. Hargreaves
(2001) has used the term the "emotional geogra-
phies" of teaching and it is increasingly clear that
there is a need for teachers to adequately address
these varied and very real challenges. The goal for
teachers when faced with unanticipated challenges is
to be able to have a mechanism that will allow them
to "plow through" the difficult moment and con-
tinue teaching. The following description of one
particular technique that has been used with
pre-service teachers in training (Kremenitzer &
Neuhaus, 2003) has been adapted for a broader
application for early childhood teachers in practice.
Table I provides an overview of this process.
Table I. Three Steps to Follow for Emotional Intelligence
Reflection
Define emotional states along a five point continuum. These
categories are specified: #1 = angry, frustrated, disgruntled;
#2 = sad, disappointed; #3 = feeling neutral; #4 = happy;
and #5 = very happy, elated
determine some eflicient method that will work for you to
jot down quick anecdotal notations about your responses to
unanticipated and/or "jarring" classroom events
assess the evidence you collected regarding your own
emotional intelligence ability to regulate yourself under
difficult circumstances and invite at least one eolleague or
"buddy" to also participate in this exercise by similarly
making self-observations into their own emotional
inteihgence journal
TRAINING TO MAKE AN EMOTIONAL
ADJUSTMENT
The first step in this self-training is to define
emotional states along a five point continuum with
two states falling in the negative category, two in a
positive category, and one in a "neutral" category.
These categories are specified as the following:
#1 = angry, frustrated, disgruntled,
#2 = sad, disappointed,
#3 = feeling neutral,
#4 = happy,
#5 = very happy, elated.
The next step is to determine some efficient
method that will work for the teacher to jot down
quick anecdotal notations about their own responses
to unanticipated and/or "jarring" events that oc-
curred in class and noting what was their reaction.
Was the result of this event that the teacher was
placed into a negative state of feeling disgruntled,
frustrated, angry, sad, or disappointed (categories
one or two)? Teachers can choose to use symbols
such as variations of smiley faces accompanied by
some abbreviated explanation that will later in the
day be transferred into their emotional intelligence
self journal where a fuller description of the event can
be recorded. It is here that the teacher can note what
was the background information relating to being in
category 1 or 2. What was the key event(s) that put
them into this negative state and were they able to
make a quick adjustment to get out of it and into a
more "neutral" state. Each day the teacher should
reflect back on any instances that they might not have
had the chance to jot down, and do so at this time.
The key recording should indicate were they able to
move through a negative moment and at least get into

a "neutral" place in order to keep on teaching in an
effective manner or were they unable to do so. These
observations should be recorded for at least a three
week period.
The final step is for the teacher to assess the
evidence that has been collected regarding their own
emotional intelligence ability to regulate themselves
under difficult circumstances. After reviewing the
emotional intelligence journal, does the teaeher see
a consistent pattern of being successful in being
able to get to "neutral" or an uneven pattern? Can
the teacher confidently declare that this is an ability
that they have or does it need more work? It is
highly recommended that a teaeher invite at least
one colleague or "buddy" to also participate in this
exercise by similarly making self-observations into
their own emotional intelligence journal. This will
allow for a peer exchange of ideas through a weekly
sharing, particularly for those instances when one
teacher finds that he/she is not able to get into
"neutral" and is "stuck" in a negative state.
Alternatively, a teacher could ask a willing "non-
participant" mentor to agree to listen to the journal
observations and be a "sounding board" for what
is being practiced.
Staying "neutral" is not meant to be a perma-
nent state but is only a temporary ability when in the
middle of a sudden unexpected awareness of being in
a negative state. It is a developed skill that teachers
need to have in order to adapt to all of the uncer-
tainties regarding classroom life and to be able to be
emotionally intelligent in the face of a difficult mo-
ment. It is eritical that early childhood teaehers
periodically do a "self-check" of this ability so that
they can remain as the wonderful role models that
they intend to be for the young children they have
devoted their careers to teaching. A teacher with
strong awareness of being able to "go into neutral"
can choose to use this as a "teachable moment" and
can explain to a class how he/she is choosing to
respond at any given moment. What better way to
teach social-emotional skills to young children than
by first hand example!
CONCLUSIONS
The early childhood years are a critical time for
the foundation for all future learning. Social and
emotional skill development has always been a key
component of early childhood programs and the
early childhood teacher typically has strong skills in
Kremenitzer
nurturing emotional intelligence abilities in young
children. It is important for early childhood teachers
to periodically challenge their own practices to make
sure that they are consistently serving as good role
models for regulating emotions particularly under
stressful circumstances. Emotional intelligence abili-
ties can be assessed through reflective self-journaling
and this method is a productive way to analyze ones
own behavior and to make modifications if needed.
Early childhood teachers can use a method that is
typically part of pre-service teacher training to help to
"refresh" their own practice.
REFERENCES
CASEL: Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional
Learning (2003). Safe and sound: An educational leader's guide
to evidence-based social and emotional learning (SEL) pro-
grams. Chicago, IL: Author.
Dewey, J. (1933). How we think: A restatement of the relations of
reflective thinking to the educative process (2nd revised edition).
Lexington, MA: D.C. Heath.
Gardner, H. (1993). Multiple intelligences: The theory in practice.
New York: Basic Books.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why it can matter
more than IQ. New York: Bantam.
Hargreaves, A. (2001). Emotional geographies of teaching. Teach-
ers College Record, 103(6), 1056-1080.
Kremenitzer, J. P., & Miller, R. (2003). Role of early childhood
educator: Practitioner, diagnostician, and super-teacher for all.
The Journal of Early Education and Eamily Review, 10(4), 5-12.
Kremenitzer, J. P., & Neuhaus, K. (2003). The emotionally
intelligent teacher. 2003 National Association for the Education
of Young Children. Chicago, Illinois: Conference presentation,
April 8.
Mayer, J. D., & Salovey, P. (1997). What is emotional intelligence?
In P. D. J. Salovey Sluyter (Ed.), Emotional development and
emotional intelligence: Implications for educators (3-21)
New York: Basic Books.
Salovey, P., & Mayer, J. D. (1990). Emotional intelligence.
Imagination. Cognition, and Personality, 9, 185-211.
Sternberg, R. J. (1996). Successful Intelligence: How practical and
creative intelligence determine success in life. New York: Simon
and Schuster, Inc.
SUGGESTED ADDITIONAL READINGS
Bocchino, R. (1999). Emotioned literacy: To be a different kind of
smart. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Cohen, J. (Ed.) (1999). Educating hearts and minds: Social
emotional learning and the passage into adolescence.
New York: Teachers College Press.
DeRoche, E. F., & Williams, M. M. (1998). Edueating hearts and
minds. Thousand Oaks, CA: Corwin Press.
Elias, M., & Tobias, S. (1996). Social problem solving: Interventions
in the schools. New York: Guilford Press.
Haynes, N., Ben-Avie & Ensign, J. (Eds.) (2003). How social and
emotional development add up: Getting results in math and
science education. New York: Teachers College Press.
Maurer, M., & Brackett, M. A. (2004). Emotional literacy in the
middle school. Port Chester, NY: National Professional
Resources, Inc.
Emotionally Intelligent EC Educator
Patti, J., & Tobin, J. (2003). Smart school leaders: Leading with
emotional intelligenee. Dubuque, IA: Kendall Hunt.
Salovey, P., Brackett, M.,- & Mayer, J. D. (2004). Emotional
Intelligence: Key readings on the Mayer and Salovey model.
Port Chester, NY: National Professional Resources, Inc.
9
Zins, J. E., Weissberg, R. P., Wang, M. C. & Walberg, H. J. (Eds)
(2004). Building academie success on social and emotional
learning: What does the research say? New York: Teachers
College Press.