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I have a son in his final year of Primary Education who, after barely two weeks of school, was given a proposal by his teacher: to write a short speech explaining why he wanted to become his class representative. After writing down his ideas, he asked me to read it. I was especially pleased to see that among his reasons were continuing to work as a team, improving relationships with classmates, listening to one another more and finding more creative ways to learn.
To me, all these ideas can be summed up in one word: wellbeing. They also relate to emotional intelligence, social skills, empathy and communication. Ultimately, they are many of the competencies that every parent hopes their children will develop throughout their lives.
What is emotional intelligence?
In the future, technology may be able to do many things for us, but emotional intelligence is something that technology cannot completely replace.
Emotional intelligence is the ability to understand ourselves, manage what we feel, connect with others and help build people who will contribute to creating a more human society. In the classroom, this means teaching students to reflect and build healthy relationships from an early age.
At SEK, we understand that education is about transmitting knowledge, but it also means teaching students to understand themselves, reflect, listen to others, build relationships, manage their emotions and resolve conflicts. This is not something that happens occasionally: it is developed from an early age and adapted to the needs and developmental stage of each educational level.
“Educating the mind without educating the heart is no education at all.”
Aristotle
The importance of emotional intelligence in the classroom
Education is not only about transmitting mathematical or scientific knowledge. Emotional wellbeing is the foundation that supports all learning.
For this reason, at SEK it has a fundamental place within our educational model, making emotional education a priority in the classroom.
Discover the SEK educational model
Improving school climate and interpersonal relationships
The aim of integrating these competencies is clear: to build a positive school climate.
School climate refers to the quality of relationships, interactions and the overall environment within a school community. A positive school climate helps students feel safe, heard and valued as part of the community, creating the right conditions for learning and personal development. By understanding their own emotions and those of their peers, students can better manage conflicts and strengthen everyday relationships, promoting greater wellbeing in the classroom.
Developing social-emotional skills and empathy
As students grow, their needs change, and so do the competencies we need to strengthen. Through emotional education, students develop essential social-emotional skills for the future. These include assertive communication, empathy, conflict resolution, decision-making and the development of healthy self-esteem.
Impact on academic performance and wellbeing
Emotional development and academic success go hand in hand. Students acquire strategies to cope with situations that may cause worry, frustration or discomfort in their everyday lives.
“Because when a student feels heard and safe, they are also in a better position to learn.”
Emotional education in the classroom: Building a house
I like to imagine social-emotional education as building a house: first, we need strong foundations so that everything else can grow on a solid structure.
- The foundations (feeling safe in the early years): During the first years, the fundamental goal is for children to learn to identify and express their emotions, find trusted adults with whom they can establish secure relationships, and discover that all emotions have a place and can be expressed and supported.
- Building the rooms (learning to live together): During the middle stages, these foundations are strengthened. Students develop their social skills and are given tools to manage frustration and everyday conflicts. They learn to recognise how they feel, put a name to their emotions, listen to others, ask for help, resolve minor conflicts and understand that their actions also have an impact on those around them.
- Decorating the house (building our own path): In the later educational stages, we aim for students to progressively develop greater autonomy. They learn to identify what they need, make responsible decisions, nurture their relationships and develop personal resources that enable them to face the challenges of adolescence.
How to implement emotional intelligence and emotional education in the classroom
Emotional intelligence is therefore not an isolated subject. It is present in everyday school life and should be developed across all areas of education.
Recommended activities and approaches
To effectively implement emotional intelligence in practice, emotions need to be integrated into everyday school life through:
- Dedicated spaces during tutoring sessions.
- Group activities focused on self-awareness.
- Mediation and guided conflict resolution.
- Collaborative projects that require teamwork and empathy.
Resources and materials for teachers: the RULER approach
To achieve this, we combine our own resources with internationally recognised social-emotional learning programmes. One of the key pillars is the RULER approach, which provides teachers, students and their families with a shared language for recognising, understanding and effectively regulating emotions.
The RULER approach is a structured approach to emotional education, from Early Childhood Education through to the final years of secondary education. It was developed at the Yale Center for Emotional Intelligence, and all SEK schools integrate its key tools into everyday school life.
This approach is supported by scientific evidence and helps students develop five key competencies:
- R (Recognize): Recognising what we are feeling.
- U (Understand): Understanding the source of an emotion.
- L (Label): Labelling and naming what we are experiencing.
- E (Express): Expressing feelings appropriately.
- R (Regulate): Regulating emotions in order to cope with different situations.
All of this has one common goal: to build a positive school climate. An environment where students can learn, interact and grow while feeling safe, respected and part of a community.
A success story and practical experience at SEK
At our SEK international schools, we understand that educating for life requires a structural commitment.
At SEK Ciudalcampo, one important aspect of our educational model is that we have a Guidance and Counselling team made up of seven professionals. The existence of a team of this size is, in itself, an indication of the importance wellbeing has within our educational project.
It is not simply about intervening when a difficulty arises, but about working proactively, supporting students and families, and collaborating with teachers and leadership teams to promote positive relationships and coexistence.
Because our children do not come to school simply to learn mathematics, languages or science. They also come to learn who they are, how to relate to others, how to face difficulties and what kind of people they want to become.
Ultimately, perhaps that is precisely what education is about: providing them with strong foundations, helping them build their own house and accompanying them as they learn to make it their own.
