Longitudinal associations between pre-service teachers’ emotional intelligence and cultural beliefs

Abstract Beliefs and emotions are intricately connected. This study first investigated changes in pre-service teachers’ emotional intelligence (EI) over three years of initial teacher education. It then examined the relationship between EI and cultural beliefs (i.e., multicultural and egalitarian beliefs), and the stability of these associations across time. The study used data collected from two cohorts in eight Finnish universities using an online survey at the beginning of the first study year (N = 2141) and in the third study year (N = 654). The results suggested that the cohorts differed in the mean scores for managing emotions and using emotions , but there was no meaningful change in any of the ability EI branches over time. Further, the initial positive association between EI and multicultural beliefs had weakened by the third study year. These associations can be explained by the stability the constructs exhibited over time. This study underscores the intentional integration of EI training and culturally responsive pedagogy into teacher education curricula.