The Relationship between Emotional Intelligence and Metacognitive Awareness of Reading Strategies with the Academic Performance of Students of Education

The aim of this research was to study the relationship between emotional intelligence (EQ) and metacognitive awareness of reading strategies (MARS) on the one hand, and academic performance on the other. The research method was correlation. The statistical population included all education students at both B.A and M.A levels who study at ShahidBeheshti University. Using a simple accidental sampling procedure, 127 students were selected and responded to the EQ questionnaire and MARS questionnaires. Students’ GPAswere considered as the measure of their academic performance. Findings showed that there were positive and significant relationships among EQ(except for empathy) and all dimensions of MARS with academic performance. Social skills and self-control subscalesin the EQ; and problem-solving strategies and global reading strategies dimensions in the MARS had the highest share in explaining academic performance. With respect to differences between two genders, such differences were not substantiated. Undergraduates had a better performance than undergraduates in the empathy subscale in the EQ measure. On the other hand, graduates scored better on the two dimensions of global reading strategies and the strategy of supporting reading in the MARS. However, in the dimension of problem solving no significant difference was found between the two groups.