The Effect of Emotional Intelligence on Teachers’ Professional Competencies and Technical and Vocational Students’ Motivation to Progress

The present research has aimed to examine the effect of emotional intelligence upon teachers’ professional competencies and students’ motivation for academic progress in Poushineh Baft Technical and Vocational School in the city of Arak. The statistical population of this research consisted of 420 students from Poushineh Baft Technical and Vocational School in the city of Arak, 201 of whom were selected based on Morgan’s sampling table and in a simple random fashion. Shrink's emotional intelligence questionnaire (2010), Mfadi's questionnaire on teachers' professional competencies (2001) and Hermans' questionnaire for achievement motivation (1970) were used in order to measure the variables involved in the research. LISREL and SPSS software were used for data analysis. The results obtained by the research point out a positive, significant correlation between teachers' emotional intelligence and professional competencies and students' motivation for academic progress. The correlation between teachers' professional competencies and academic progress was also confirmed. The obtained results show that enhanced emotional intelligence and strengthened professional competencies in teachers can lead to higher motivation for academic progress in students in technical and vocational schools. Therefore, it seems necessary that more research be carried out and appropriate measures be taken by authorities in order to increase students' motivation for academic progress.