Developmental Education and Emotional Intelligence in Three Rural East Texas Community Colleges
Dr. B. Lynn Veitch, Dr. Madeline Justice

Abstract
Approximately one-half of all first-year freshmen enroll in at least one developmental education class. Community colleges are usually at the forefront of providing educational opportunities for students needing assistance in higher education entry-level skills. The challenge facing higher education has been to increase student achievement and retention for those taking developmental courses. Research is becoming more focused on emotional intelligence for all aspects of education and life. This study identified if a relationship exists between emotional intelligence skills and academic achievement, retention, gender and ethnicity in developmental courses in several rural community colleges. Participants were enrolled in mathematics, reading, or writing developmental education courses at one of three rural colleges. Descriptive statistics, Pearson’s product-moment correlations, and regression analyses were used to ascertain the relationship of academic achievement and retention (reenrollment) with ten emotional intelligence skills and three emotional intelligence potential problem areas of the Emotional Skills Assessment Program.

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