DEFINICIÓN CONCEPTUAL Y OPERACIONAL DE LAS VARIABLES

For the analysis of the qualitative data I used NVivo trial version downloaded from www.nvivo.com. By using the NVivo qualitative analysis program all data was more efficiently and systematically coded under different ‘nodes’. The nodes of the analysis were constituted of two different categories depending on whether they were connected to EI or pupil achievement. These codes came either from Mayer and Salovey’s four branches of EI (1997) or were related to definitions and theories of pupil achievement mentioned above. Below the two tables describe the codes that have been used for the analysis.

Based on the two significant pylons of the research, EI and Pupil Performance I chose to have a broader perspective of the case studies via a cross case analysis. Under the nodes that were created for analyzing the data coming from the different sources, I searched for patterns within cases in order to identify dimensions or constructs from the literature, and then looked for within-group similarities and inter-group differences.

Table 2.3: Codes for EI

64 Perception of Emotions The ability to “engage in sophisticated information

processing about one’s own and others’ emotions and the ability to use this information as a guide to thinking and behavior.”(Mayer, Salovey, and Caruso, 2008, p.503) Expression of emotions “Observable verbal and nonverbal behaviors that

communicate an internal emotional or affective state. Vivid examples of emotional expression are facial movements.” (Dorset Research and Development Support Unit, 2003) Appraisal of emotions “The ability to discriminate between different feelings and

label them appropriately, and to use emotional information to guide thinking and behavior.” (Salovey and Mayer, 1990, p.189)

Interpretation of emotions

The ability to analyze the meaning of emotions and promote thinking by managing emotional knowledge. (Mayer and Salovey,1997)

Ability of linking case to emotions

The capacity to process emotional information and messages in order to connect them with real life circumstances and situations. (Mayer and Salovey,1997)

Self confidence/ self- esteem

This terms refers to a person's overall subjective emotional evaluation of his or her own worth and also incorporates personal beliefs. (Hewitt, 2009)

Ability to distinguish hidden and/or dishonest Emotions

Ability to understand if an individual’s emotions and behavior is honest or not, according to a person’s thoughts. (Mayer and Salovey,1997)

Self control The ability to control oneself in terms of emotions, behavior, and desires with an ultimate aim of function within society’s rules. In psychology it is sometimes also called self-regulation. (DeLisi, 2015)

65 Concrete Asking of

Reinforcement by pupils

This term involves urge of student to be mentored by teacher during teaching process. (Rieber, 1997a)

Reaction to verbal reprimand

Potential reaction either positive or negative in cases that an adult scolds verbally.

Empathy The capacity to “understand what another person is experiencing from within the other person's frame of reference.” (Bellet and Maloney, 1991, p.183)

Emotional distraction Inability of staying focused and emotional stable during teaching. This distraction may also co-occur with inappropriate adoption of emotional reactions.

Table 2.4: Codes for EI and Pupil Performance

CODE DEFINITION/ DESCRIPTION

Ability to stay open to failure Reflective Regulation of Emotion consists of the ability to “stay open to feelings, both those that are pleasant and those that are unpleasant.” (Mayer and Salovey, 1997, p.11)

Ability to stay open to success This capacity refers to positive attitude of staying open both to pleasant and unpleasant feelings (Mayer and Salovey,1997)

Trust in abilities and knowledge Self confidence and conscious trust in knowledge during classroom activities

66 and teaching.

Intrinsic Motivation to participate in Activities

The term refers to the “self-desire” to discover new things and face challenges aiming at gaining knowledge (Ryan and Deci, 2000). Pupils and students who have developed intrinsic motivation are more eager to improve their skills and abilities (Wigfield et al., 2004).

Compliance to classroom rules Ability to comply with the rules that have been agreed of all pupils by the beginning of the school year.

Response to cognitive challenges Efficient and quick responding in open ended questions referring to the areas of school either to general or school knowledge.

Appropriate choice of cognitive strategies Choosing appropriate cognitive strategies and specific methods to solve problems, including all sorts of reasoning, planning, arithmetic (Siegler and Shipley ,1995).

School Stress management “Responses to stress include adaptation, psychological coping such as stress management, anxiety, and depression, controlling the source of stress or learning to set limits” (“Stress”, 2014). Management of stress at school refers to the ability of effective controlling anxiety or anything that causes worry.

Metacognitive abilities The term refers to a set of abilities and refers to “the awareness of one’s own

67 thinking, conceptions, an active

monitoring of one’s cognitive processes, an attempt to regulate one’s cognitive processes in relationship to further learning” (Hennessey, 1999, p.3)

All sources of data coming from the observation protocols, questionnaires and interviews have been coded. This in-depth analysis provided the essential prerequisite in order to categorize, compare and contrast the data. Images-exemplars of the NVivo analysis are presented below.

68 Figure 2.2: NVivo screenshot of Observation Coding

The second aim during the cross case analysis was to explore the interactions between these two pylons of the study. As the main research question of my study is to identify if and how EI is a contributing factor to pupil performance and especially to children with LD, I investigated the effect of one term on the other and vice versa. In the next chapter I present in groups the similarities and the differences that I gathered from the sample within the terms of EI and Pupil Performance. Some specific categories of these two terms have special interest either because of the number of times these were found in the data analysis or due to their prominence in individual cases-pupils.