COMMONWEALTH ASSOCATION FOR
EDUCATION, ADMINISTRATION AND
MANAGEMENT
VOLUME 2 ISSUE 1
ISSNO NO 2322-0147
JANUARY
2014
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT
IN RELATION TO SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE
Excellence International Journal of Education and
Research (Multi- subject journal)
Excellence International Journal Of Education And Research
VOLUME 2
ISSUE 1
ISSN 2322-0147
EMOTIONAL INTELLIGENCE AND CLASSROOM ENVIRONMENT IN
RELATION TO SCIENTIFIC ATTITUDE
Dr. Meenakshi Jindal
Lecturer in Physics
Carmel Convent School,
Sector-9, Chandigarh
meenu20nov@gmail.com
Mo.:09417410429
Abstract
In this study the researcher tried to study the relationship between emotional
intelligence, classroom environment and scientific attitude. For this, the data was
collected by administering Scientific Attitude Scale, Emotional Intelligence Scale and
Classroom environment Scale. A sample of 78 students was taken from Carmel Convent
School, Chandigarh. Pearson’s Product moment correlation and multiple Regression
were applied to analyze the data. The results of the study show a significant positive
correlation between emotional intelligence and scientific attitude; classroom
environment and scientific attitude & emotional intelligence and classroom environment.
The results also indicated a significant joint contribution of emotional intelligence and
classroom environment to predict scientific attitude of students. Emotional Intelligence
showed a significant individual contribution to predict scientific attitude of students. Thus
emotional intelligence is a better predictor of scientific attitude of class X students.
Key words: Scientific Attitude, Classroom Environment and Emotional Intelligence,
Multiple regression.
Introduction
School system is meant to develop the children in terms of various skills and
values. These values range from psychological, physiological, social, moral, cultural, and
intellectual and so on. Various curricular and co-curricular activities help to develop
these values. These skills and values help the children not only adjust well in later years
of life but also live a meaningful life. Emotional intelligence and scientific attitude
contribute to inculcate these values.
Scientific Attitude
Rai (1963) stated that one of the main objectives for teaching science should be to
develop in him scientific attitude. According to All India Seminar on Teaching of Science
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(1956), one of the aims and objectives of Teaching of Science should be to acquaint the
pupil with the scientific method and enable him to develop scientific attitude. Noll (1935)
opined that the scientific attitude includes the following habits of thinking, viz, habit of
accuracy in all operations including accuracy in calculations, observation and report,
habit of intellectual honesty, habit of open-mindedness, habit of suspended judgment,
habit of looking for true causes and effect relationship and habit of criticalness including
that for self-criticism. Caldwell and Curtis (1943) suggested a list of scientific attitudes.
They are curiosities to know about one’s environment; the belief that nothing can happen
without a cause and those occurrences that seem strange and mysterious can always be
explained by natural causes.
According to NSSE, scientific Attitude can be defined as ‘open-mindedness, a
desire for accurate knowledge, confidence in procedures for seeking knowledge and
expectations that the solution of the problem will come through the use of verified
knowledge’. In a school set up teacher plays a very important role in inculcation of
scientific attitude in students. Teacher undertakes number of activities in the class for this
purpose and creates an environment where teacher persuades them to do these activities.
Such kind of permissive and persuasive environment provided by the teacher leads to the
development of scientific attitude. Thus classroom environment also plays a very
important role in inculcation of scientific attitude.
Classroom Environment
Classroom is a social set up where teacher and students work together to further
the interest of students. The physical environment, infrastructure, teacher and students
together forms an environment termed as classroom environment. Classroom
environment is marked with relationships and inter relationships between teacher and
students, among students, between physical environment and teacher and students and so
on. Good (1959) defined classroom environment as ‘the sum total of all the physical,
social, emotional and mental factors that contributes to the total teaching learning
situation. Heat, light, sitting arrangement, individual differences among members of the
group, teacher’s personality, teacher-pupil relationships, all taken together make class
environment’. For a good classroom environment there must be strong and positive social
and emotional relationships. Students must learn to handle different emotional situations
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in the class for effective outcomes. Thus emotional intelligence is yet another factor
needed for inculcation of scientific attitude.
Emotional Intelligence
Salovey and Mayer (1990) defined emotional intelligence as, ‘the subset of social
intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one's own and others' feelings and
emotions, to discriminate among them and to use this information to guide one's thinking
and actions’. Goleman (1998) defined emotional Intelligence as ‘the capacity of
recognizing our own feelings and those of others for motivating ourselves and for
managing emotions well in ourselves and in our relationships’. Salovey and Mayer
(1990) categorized Emotional Intelligence into five domains, that is, Self-Awareness,
Managing Emotions, Motivating oneself, Empathy and Handling Relationships.
Need of the Study
Scientific attitude and emotional intelligence seem to complement each other.
Emotional intelligence is for emotional stability and scientific attitude forms the overall
personality of an individual. An emotional intelligent person can view the things more
critically and objectively. Thus emotional intelligence somehow promotes scientific
attitude. Kumar, Muniandy & Yahaya (2012) found that there is a positive correlation
between emotional intelligence and attitude towards computers. Stedam, & Andenoro
(2007) found a positive relationship between emotional intelligence and critical thinking.
But not much work has been done to study the relationship of classroom environment,
emotional intelligence and scientific attitude. So the researcher attempted to undertake
the present study.
Objectives of the Study
1. To study the correlation between Emotional Intelligence and Scientific Attitude
of class X students.
2. To study the correlation between Classroom Environment and Scientific Attitude
of class X students.
3. To study the correlation between Classroom Environment and Emotional
Intelligence of class X students.
4. To study the joint contribution of Emotional Intelligence and Classroom
Environment in predicting Scientific Attitude of class X students.
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5. To study the individual contribution of Emotional Intelligence and Classroom
Environment in predicting Scientific Attitude of class X students.
Hypotheses of the Study
1. There is no significant correlation between Emotional Intelligence and Scientific
Attitude of class X students.
2. There is no significant correlation between Classroom Environment and Scientific
Attitude of class X students.
3. There is no significant correlation between Classroom Environment and
Emotional Intelligence of class X students.
4. There is no significant joint contribution of Emotional Intelligence and Classroom
Environment in predicting Scientific Attitude of class X students.
5. There is no significant individual contribution of Emotional Intelligence and
Classroom Environment in predicting Scientific Attitude of class X students.
Operational Definition

Emotional Intelligence as perceived by Anokool Hyde, Sanjyot Pethe and
Upinder Dhar in Emotional Intelligence Scale (2001). The scale covered ten
factors, such as, self-awareness, empathy, self-motivation, emotional stability,
managing relations, integrity, self-development, value orientation, commitment
and altruistic behavior.

Scientific Attitude as perceived by Dr. Meenakshi Jindal and Dr. Sanjeev Kumar
includes eleven dimensions such as critical thinking, critical observation,
curiosity, open-mindedness, persistence, intellectual honesty, inventiveness,
scientific creativity, suspended judgment, caring and free from superstition, bias
and prejudice.

Classroom Environment as perceived by the author, Moos and Trickett in
Classroom Environment Scale (1986), includes the dimensions; Involvement,
affiliation, Teacher Support, to define Relationship Dimension of the Scale; Task
Orientation and Competition to define Personal Growth/ Orientation Dimension
of the scale and Order and Organization, Rule Clarity, Teacher Control and
Innovation to define System Maintenance and Change Dimension of the scale.
Delimitation of the Study
The study was limited to Convent Schools of Chandigarh.
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Sample of the Study
The population of the study was all the students studying in class X of various
Convent Schools of Chandigarh. The sample constituted of 100 girls taken from two
sections of the Carmel Convent School, Chandigarh. The school was selected randomly
and students were taken as cluster from each section.
Design of the Study
Survey method was used to conduct the study.
Tools Used
Following Tools were used by the researcher to collect the data:



Scientific Attitude Scale developed by Dr. Sanjeev Kumar and Dr. Meenakshi
Jindal to study the Scientific Attitude of the students of Class X.
Emotional Intelligence Scale (2001) by Anokool Hyde, Sanjyot Pethe and
Upinder Dhar to study the emotional intelligence of the students of Class X.
Classroom Environment Scale developed by Moos and Trickett (1986) to study
the Classroom Environment of the students of Class X.
Procedure and Collection of Data
The research was conducted to study the Scientific Attitude of girl students of the
said school and whether Emotional Intelligence and Classroom Environment predicts
Scientific Attitude of students or not. For this, a sample of 100 students was subjected to
Scientific Attitude Scale, Classroom Environment Scale and Emotional Intelligence
Scale. Out of the total sample 22 students showed experimental mortality and thus they
were discarded. The analysis of the data is based on the scores of 78 students. The
Summative Evaluation scores of Science subject were taken as Achievement Scores in
Science. The raw data were collected and subjected to statistical treatment.
Statistical Tools Used
Descriptive statistics such as, Mean, Median, Standard deviation, Skewness and
Kurtosis were used to study the nature of the data and inferential statistics such as,
Product Moment Correlation and Multiple Correlation were used to test the hypotheses.
Analysis and Interpretation of the Data
The first objective of the study was to study the correlation between Emotional
Intelligence and Scientific Attitude of class X students. The data was analyzed using
product moment correlation and the results are given in table 1.
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Table-1Showing Mean, Standard Deviation and Correlation Values of the Predictor
and Criterion Variables
SNo.
1
2
3
Variables
Scientific
Attitude
Classroom
Environment
Emotional
Intelligence
Mean
Standard
Deviation
N
152.27
14.80
78
52.50
10.00
78
134.85
13.59
78
Coefficient of Correlation ( r )
r1-2
r1-3
r2-3
.191
.418
.355
Table 1 show that the coefficient of correlation between Scores of Emotional
Intelligence and Scientific Attitude of the sample students is 0.418. The value is positive
and significant at 0.01 level. Thus the hypothesis that there is no significant correlation
between Emotional Intelligence and Scientific Attitude of class X students is not
accepted. The alternative hypothesis that there is a significant correlation between
Emotional Intelligence and Scientific Attitude of class X students is accepted.
The second objective of the study was to study the correlation between Classroom
Environment and Scientific Attitude of class X students. The data was analyzed using
product moment correlation and the result is given in table 1. Table 1 show that the
coefficient of correlation between Scores of Classroom Environment and Scientific
Attitude of the sample students is 0.191. The value is positive and significant at 0.05
level. Thus the hypothesis that there is no significant correlation between scores of
Classroom Environment and Scientific Attitude of class X students is not accepted. The
alternative hypothesis that there is a significant correlation between Classroom
Environment and Scientific Attitude of class X students is accepted.
The third objective of the study was to study the correlation between Classroom
Environment and Emotional Intelligence of class X students. The data was analyzed
using product moment correlation and the result is given in table 1. Table 1 show that the
coefficient of correlation between Scores of Classroom Environment and Scientific
Attitude of the sample students is 0.355. The value is positive and significant at 0.01
level. Thus the hypothesis that there is no significant correlation between scores of
Classroom Environment and Emotional Intelligence of class X students is not accepted.
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The alternative hypothesis that there is a significant correlation between Classroom
Environment and Emotional Intelligence of class X students is accepted.
The fourth objective of the study was to study the joint contribution of scores of
Classroom Environment and Emotional Intelligence in predicting Scientific Attitude of
Class X students. The data were analyzed with help of multiple correlation and the results
are given in table 2.
Table 2 Showing Multiple Regression Analysis between the Predictor Variables
(Classroom Environment and Emotional Intelligence) and the Criterion Variable
(Scientific Attitude)
Multiple ( R )= .420
Multiple ( R2)= .177
Standard Error of Estimate = 12.49
Source of Df
Sum
of Mean
Variation
Squares
Squares
2979.11
1489.55
Regression 2
Residual
75
13880.236
Total
77
16859.35
F-ratio
Significance
8.049
.001
185.07
Going by the result presented in table 2, the two independent variables, that is,
Classroom Environment and Emotional Intelligence when put together yielded a
coefficient of multiple regression (R) value of 0.420 and a multiple correlation square
(R2) of 0.177. It shows that 17.7% of the total variance in Scientific Attitude of the
students of class X is accounted by the joint contribution of Classroom Environment and
Emotional Intelligence Thus, the hypothesis that there is no significant joint contribution
of Classroom Environment and Emotional Intelligence in predicting Scientific Attitude of
Class X students is not accepted. Table 2 also indicates that the Analysis of Variance of
the multiple regression data produced an F-ratio value of 8.049. The calculated value is
higher than the table value at 75, 2 degree of freedom and is significant at 0.01 level.
Thus, it may therefore be inferred that the joint contribution of Classroom Environment
and Emotional Intelligence predicts Scientific Attitude of students under study.
The fifth objective is to study the individual contribution of Classroom
Environment and Emotional Intelligence in predicting Scientific Attitude of students. The
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data were analyzed on the basis of beta values and t-ratio value. The results are given in
Table 3.
Table –3 Showing Relative Contributions of Predictor Variables (Emotional
Intelligence and Classroom Environment) in Predicting Scientific Attitude
Predictor
Unstandardized
Coefficients
Standardized t-Ratio
coefficients
B
BETA
Constant
89.685
Std.
Error
15.720
Emotional
Intelligence
Classroom
Environment
.436
.122
.071
.166
Significance
5.705
.000
.401
3.576
.001
.048
.429
.669
Table 3 shows the individual contribution of predictor variables, that is,
Classroom Environment and Emotional Intelligence, on the Criterion variable, Scientific
Attitude. The result indicates that Emotional Intelligence show significant individual
contribution towards the prediction of Scientific Attitude. The t-ratio value of 3.576 is
significant at 0.01 level. But the t-value between scores of Classroom Environment and
Scientific Attitude is not significant. Thus the hypothesis that there is no significant
individual contribution of Classroom Environment and Emotional Intelligence in
predicting Scientific Attitude of sample students may be partially accepted. The result
also indicates that the beta weight for Emotional Intelligence, which represents the
individual contribution in predicting Emotional Intelligence, is 0.401, that is 16.76% and
the beta weight for Classroom Environment is .048, that is, 0.91%. The beta weight for
Classroom Environment in Predicting Scientific Attitude is relatively very less and is not
significant. It may therefore be inferred that Emotional Intelligence is a better predictor of
Scientific Attitude.
Conclusion
It has been concluded from the above results that there is a significant positive
correlation between Scientific Attitude and Emotional Intelligence; Scientific Attitude
and Classroom Environment; and Emotional Intelligence and Classroom Environment of
Class X girl students of Carmel Convent School of Chandigarh. The joint contribution of
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Emotional Intelligence and Classroom Environment predicts Scientific Attitude of
sample students. Moreover Emotional Intelligence is a better predictor of Scientific
Attitude than Classroom Environment.
Educational Implication
The study showed wide educational implications. The results of the study indicate
that the students who manage their emotions intelligently, that is, emotionally intelligent,
have high Scientific Attitude. They have critical thinking, critical observation, curiosity,
open-mindedness, persistence, intellectual honesty, inventiveness, scientific creativity,
suspended judgment, caring and free from superstition, bias and prejudice. Thus it is
important to work on Emotional Intelligence of Students for the development of their
Scientific Attitude.
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