Abstract

What is already known? This article offers a methodology for researching Emotional Intelligence (EI) within the working contexts of educational leaders. Existing methodologies included numerous, sometimes contradictory approaches, none of which precisely fitted the project’s aims. This article explores the various contradictions emerging from these, and justifies the final choice of three methods for securing the necessary data. 

What does this article add? The methods themselves are not new; what was innovative was their combined use to interpret how leaders believed they deployed EI to influence teamworking and sharing of vision. Issues of translation arising from the context of the research are also briefly addressed. The whole is framed through the lens of research as a journey for which methodology is the map. 

What are the implications? This article is intended for school leaders, teacher researchers and academics who wish to explore the impact of leaders’ EI rather than merely attempting to measure it. It emphasises the importance of evaluating EI in context by describing one project which attempted to gather deep understanding of the links between EI and school leadership in three Cypriot primary schools.

Keywords: emotional intelligence, leadership, research as quest, methodology as map-making

How to Cite: Stavrou Theodotou, S. & Harvey, J. A. (2023) “Seeking the Golden Fleece: a quest to evaluate the way Emotional Intelligence influences the work of primary school leaders”, Focus on Practice (Wales Journal of Education), doi: https://doi.org/10.16922/wje.p3