Analysis of the inclusion level and possible barriers of the development techniques of emotional intelligence and in particular of mindfulness in the area of Physical Education in ESO

Abstract

The objective was to analyze the level of inclusion of techniques for the development of emotional intelligence (EI) and mindfulness in particular, as well as the possible difficulties perceived by the teachers when imparting a physical education (PE) class. A Likert-type questionnaire of 20 items spread amongst four dimensions (university education, personal experience, professional development, and difficulties in applying it in class) was developed and distributed online within the Spanish territory. 79 PE teachers of the secondary school answered the questionnaire (41 women and 38 men), with an average of 38.5 ± 8.8 years. To determine the reliability of the questionnaire, an exploratory and confirmatory analysis was carried out, bringing as result an alternative questionnaire model which provided a higher reliability index of adjustment in the results. The applied methodology was quantitative with a cross-sectional design and selective procedure. The results reflected that 81% of teachers received little university training compared to 19% who stated that they had received it, the scarce professional development was also highlighted (47% planned content to develop EI, compared to 53%), both factors representing the main source of difficulties generation for teachers when including emotional skills development techniques in their classes. In addition, a significant impact was observed in the age, gender and years of experience of the teachers (p≤ .05) including EI development techniques. The results concluded that the most notable difficulties for the teachers are: the scarce training received at the university and the ignorance of mindfulness as an innovative technique and its benefits.