Intervention in teaching as a means for developing emotional intelligence and positive thinking in 1st-year students in teacher education programmes

Many studies show that students' emotional instability affects the quality of knowledge acquisition, confirming the thesis of the unity between affect and intellect. The current research is related to the improvement of social emotional competence of prospective teachers, the development of which begins in the period of training. This is why special intervention measures have been designed to increase the level of emotional intelligence and enhance positive thinking in 1st-year teacher education programme students. It is hence important to study the possibilities for the development of EI and positive thinking in 1st-year teacher education programme students for their future professional success. Nowadays, it is not just academic knowledge in the professional field that is important for professional activity, but also the ability to recognize and control emotions and to perceive the social environment in a positive way. The Bar-On Emotional Quotient Inventory (EQ- i) and Diener Positive Thinking Scale were used. An intervention programme was designed for the development of EI and positive thinking. To check the effectiveness of intervention, a survey was conducted before and after the implementation of the programme. It was found that specially designed intervention promotes the improvement of EI and positive thinking in the university education environment. The gaps in the development of the social and emotional, and the communicative competence necessary for successful acquisition of teacher training programmes have been remedied in 1st-year students.