The relationship between emotional intelligence of school principals and teachers' subjective well-being according to teachers' perceptions

This study aimed to explore the relationship between emotional intelligence of school principals as perceived by teachers in public schools across three central districts of Şanlıurfa province (Eyyübiye, Haliliye and Karaköprü) in the 2023-2024 academic year and subjective well-being of teachers. The sample of the study included 375 teachers working in primary, secondary and high schools in these districts. In this study, the correlational design was applied and data were collected through the "Evaluation Scale of the Administrators' Emotional Intelligence Skills", "Teacher Subjective Wellbeing Questionaire" and "Personal Information Form". Data analysis was conducted using the SPSS package program, calculating the arithmetic mean, standard deviation, minimum, maximum, kurtosis, skewness values, with Pearson correlation analysis and simple linear regression analyses applied. The findings showed that both the perceived emotional intelligence of school principals and the subjective well-being of teachers were rated highly by the teachers. The findings indicated that there is no significant difference in the emotional intelligence levels of school principals based on the educational level of the institution they lead; however, a significant difference was observed according to the district in which they are employed. Regarding teachers' subjective well-being, significant differences were found based on gender, age, professional experience, and district of employment, but no significant differences were identified in relation to their educational attainment or the educational level of the institution they work at. The correlation analysis revealed a moderate, statistically significant, and positive relationship between the emotional intelligence of school principals and the subjective well-being of teachers. Moreover, moderate, positive and significant relationships were found between the emotional intelligence of school principals and the teacher subjective well-being sub-dimensions, School Connectedness and Teaching Efficacy. Finally, simple linear regression analyses revealed that emotional intelligence of school principals explains 31% of teachers' school connectedness, 0.9% of their teaching efficacy, and 26.4% of their subjective well-being. The research findings were discussed considering the findings of the studies available in the literature.