Teachers' emotional intelligence as a predictor of their attitude, concerns and sentiments about inclusive education: teacher professional-related factors as control variables

Our study determined the impact of emotional intelligence (EI) on teachers' attitudes, concerns and sentiments about inclusive education while controlling for teachers' professional-related factors. This is predicated on the increasing influence of EI on teacher effectiveness. The sample size consisted of 508 regular classroom teachers. Using hierarchical regression analysis, our findings revealed that teacher EI was significantly associated with attitude and concerns about inclusive education after controlling teacher professional-related factors. There was no significant relationship between EI and teachers' sentiments about inclusive education, and teachers' professional-related factors did not account for individual contributions to the variances in teachers' sentiments. It was concluded that teachers' EI, may be a crucial factor that can impact aspects of teachers' perception of inclusive education such as attitude, and concerns about inclusive education but may not be able to erase teachers' deep-seated beliefs on inclusion. Implications of the study were highlighted. © 2022 The Authors. Journal of Research in Special Educational Needs published by John Wiley & Sons Ltd on behalf of National Association for Special Educational Needs.