ABSTRACT
Every school has significant opportunities to develop the emotional intelligence of children through the management of the school’s environment. There are a variety of factors that constitute the milieu or school ecology and exert an influence, directly or indirectly, on all students from kindergarten through high school. Such factors include teachers and peer models, curriculum and learning experiences, and the social dynamics of group interactions. These factors, as well as other influences, contribute to the emotional tone in the school and can directly moderate student behavior. The players that are involved in, and responsible for, developing and maintaining this milieu include teachers, administrators, school counselors, and even the students themselves. When school personnel focus attention and effort at controlling the emotional dimensions of the school environment, the conditions are set to develop students’ emotional intelligence. Opportunities to provide emotional learning experiences naturally occur during any school day. An emotionally intelligent school professional is anyone who recognizes these windows of opportunities
and uses these teachable moments to advance the emotional awareness of the students and staff.
