Chernous T. Psychological Peculiarities of Emotional Intelligence Development in Prospective Primary School Teachers through Music

The dissertation presents a theoretical and experimental study of the psychological features of forming emotional intelligence in prospective primary school teachers through music within the context of their professional orientation. This research proposed the definition of emotional intelligence for prospective primary school teachers as an integral hierarchical structure comprising cognitive, emotional, adaptive, motivational, and regulatory components. This structure ensures the development of intrapersonal and interpersonal abilities to identify, understand, and manage emotions, forming the basis for professional competencies and contributing to the successful fulfilment of individual, social, and professional needs. Following a theoretical examination, the research sets up a conceptual dynamic model of the development of emotional intelligence through music, comprising target, structural and functional, operational, and diagnostic blocks. This model underpins the experimental study design. Based on the conceptual dynamic model and the initial experimental stage data, the author proposed a specialised programme for developing emotional intelligence in prospective primary school teachers through music and validated it during the formative stage of the experiment. The research managed to holistically implement the programme and achieve its goals and objectives (developing structural and functional components of emotional intelligence, enhancing motivation to use music professionally and for self-development, as well as forming motivation to use music for optimising coping resources to manage stress) through psychological and pedagogical facilitation, body-oriented, emotionally focused, creative, and socially oriented approaches. The dissertation provides a qualitative and quantitative interpretation of the formative experiment results and proposes methodological recommendations for developing emotional intelligence through music. The analysis of experimental data demonstrates a significant improvement in all components of emotional intelligence in the experimental group according to the cognitive, emotional, adaptive, regulatory, and motivational criteria of the programme performance. Moreover, the research empirically substantiated and confirmed the effectiveness of music for the structural and functional components of the emotional intelligence model elaborated for a prospective primary school teacher. The study developed methodological guidelines for lecturers / academic staff, and students on the effective use of music for developing emotional intelligence, encompassing theoretical and methodological foundations, main goals and conditions, and criteria for evaluating effectiveness (reflective, psycho-emotional, somatic, creative, and social). The guidelines also provide an indicative list and description of recommended techniques for musical interventions. The contribution of this dissertation towards theory is significant, as it constructs for the first time a conceptual dynamic model for developing emotional intelligence in prospective primary school teachers through music. The research proposes and validates an appropriate comprehensive programme, substantiates and experimentally verifies the psychological and pedagogical conditions necessary for the effective influence of music, and provides empirical data on students’ readiness to utilise musical means for professional and self-development, as well as for improving coping resources to manage stress. A further theoretical addition is the clarification of the content of the emotional intelligence concept in the context of the educational and professional training of future primary school teachers. The research further advanced theoretical and methodological approaches to the role of musical means in developing the emotional intelligence of prospective primary school teachers and the psychological and pedagogical conditions for their effective application in the dimension of students’ professional formation. The practical significance of the study is evidenced by the incorporation of theoretical and empirical findings into the educational curricula of such disciplines as "Orff-Pedagogy in Primary School,". An added contribution to practice is that the proposed scientific provisions can be employed by university lecturers in both lectures and practical classes for courses such as "General Psychology". The developed programme for fostering emotional intelligence through music can assist university lecturers in facilitating students’ project-based learning activities and managing other psychological and pedagogical issues. Keywords: emotional intelligence, emotional competence, empathy, coping strategies, music activities, students, self-reflection, self-regulation, stress resistance, creativity, teaching effectiveness.