Academic Skills for Accounting - Report Example

Introduction

Currently, people are living in a globalization age where life is under constant transition. Due to urbanization, liberalization and privatization, students in higher learning institutions find themselves in situations that render them unequipped and unfit for academics (T.Manichander, 2011). Emotional intelligence is developing as an important factor for supporting high achievement, maintenance, and constructive behaviour including improving the success in life. More academic institution and organizations are considering Emotional Intelligence as a general solution to increase academic and social results (T.Manichander, 2011). In the UK, Emotional Intelligence has taken its position along with different other terms that cover comparatively the similar territory but which may feel more agreeable to British emotional response (Pope, Roper, and Qualter, 2013). This paper will discuss how emotional intelligence would affect academic progression of UK higher institution students and will conclude with a summary of main ideas.

Emotional Intelligence and Academic Achievement

Emotional intelligence is the ability of an individual to monitor his or her feelings and emotions, to distinguish between them, and to utilize this information as a guide to how an individual thinks and acts (Goleman, 2014). The term has also been defined as the ability to identify personal feelings, be able to self-motivate, and handle personal emotions and those of other individuals in relationships. Academic progression can be defined as upholding a level of academic achievement that is satisfactory in all the teaching periods of a student in a particular course (Qualter, Whiteley, Morley, and Dudiak, 2009). It is important to maintain an academic progression; since, it indicates that one is achieving the objectives in all requirements of the course.

On the other hand, academic achievement can be termed as the maximum performance one attains in the entire activities at school after a training period. Achievement incorporates the ability of a student as well as performance in the learning institution; it is multidimensional, it is complexly associated to emotions, human growth, social, cognitive, and physical development. Besides Intelligent Quotient (IQ), academic achievement is interpreted in terms of emotional intelligence, social intelligence, and spiritual among other characteristics. The performance of a student is based on various personality traits.

According to Goleman, (2014) there are a number of emotional competencies as described below. First, self-awareness: this is the ability of an individual to identify and his or her states of emotion and to realize the relationship between thoughts, emotions and action. Second, self-regulation: the capability of an individual to manage his or her states of emotion or to change from undesirable states of emotions to ones that are suitable. Third, motivation: this is the ability of one getting into his emotions at will and is related to a drive to attain and become successful. Fourth, empathy: this is the ability of an individual to read, be sensitive and influence the emotions of other people. Lastly, social skills: this is the ability of an individual to enter and withstand suitable interpersonal relations.

There exists a constructive relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement (Alessandra, 2006). Thus, the need for inclusion of emotional intelligence curricula among schools. On the other hand, a research that was conducted by Brody (2004) found that the performance among students is highly dependent on whether the emotional intelligence of the student is high or low. Another research suggested that skills in emotional intelligence are significant in performance and academic achievement (Andrews, 2004). The relationship between academic performance and emotional intelligence are based on two issues. The first issue involved the ambiguity of academic performance while the second involved the need for self-direction as well as management in academic performance (Brody, 2004). Thus, students who possess high levels of emotional intelligence have better outcomes in education.

Emotional intelligence can play an important role in academic achievement since it includes skills such as determination and motivation that lead to success (Pope, Roper, and Qualter, 2013). Through research findings conducted in various fields, it is evident that emotional intelligence is associated with a number of features found in a successful life. For instance, emotional intelligence was found to be an important forecaster for academic achievement, satisfaction with life and health (Pope, Roper, and Qualter, 2013). Another research that was conducted found out the relationship that senior managers have with emotional intelligence in relation to job satisfaction, work behaviour, and work attitude. In addition, the success of students in academic and professional studies is influenced by emotional intelligence. Individuals who have a high emotional intelligence are observed to be more friendly and non-hostile. Such qualities improve the relationship of such students as well as their academic performance.

In each and every nation, academic achievement is a key factor of policy makers. The academic achievement of students has had a great influence by both the internal and external environments that one undergoes (Pope, Roper, and Qualter, 2013). For instance, students face socio economic status, anxiety, social phobia, styles of learning, and disabilities in learning among other factors. Thus, there is great need to consider the factors, which increase the possibility of achievement as well as highlight factors that limit the rate of achievement among students. The emotions of a person forms the basis of all motivations and interests, thus, it is directly associated with performance and achievement of an individual (Connor and Slear, 2009). Therefore, emotions play a significant role as a source of motivation, source of strength, source of enjoyment as well as strength to the body. A persistent emotional tension may result to poor health, restlessness, sleep disturbances, lack of appetite, and headache among others (Brody, 2004). Thus, effort is established to associate academic achievement and emotional intelligence.

Besides success in academics and retention in school, a lot of research work has focused on the relationship between health, behaviour and emotional intelligence. According to Goleman, emotional intelligence is important in enhancing the outcomes of life (Goleman, 2014). He suggested that self-science is an important element of emotional intelligence. High emotional intelligence among students may contribute to the process of learning. On the other hand, students who have a low level of emotional intelligence face difficulties in their studies while their motivation in academics is undermined.

Over the recent past, the mind of a person included a new perspective that is currently being believed to be responsible for additional success than intelligence (Qualter, Whiteley, Morley, and Dudiak, 2009). The dimension is known as emotional intelligence. The term emotional intelligence has gained more attention as a useful factor in understanding and predicting the life of an individual in terms of performance at school, work and at home.

Conclusion

The above paper has discussed how emotional intelligence has affected academic progression of UK higher institution students. Through different research papers, it was evident that emotional intelligence is seen as a bouquet of social and emotional competencies. Among them comprised of the ability to articulate effectively, comprehend and control different emotions as well as the ability to handle and become accustomed to the surrounding of an individual. Also, the paper emphasized the need of emotional intelligence in all higher learning institutions. To sum up, there is a strong connection between emotional intelligence and academic performance among students in the UK. Students with high emotional intelligence benefit from the ability of managing pressures and complexities while those with low emotional intelligence face challenges in handling different challenges.