Abstract:

Emotional intelligence, Big Five personality traits and social skills were studied in relation to academic performance. Primary education teaching students and Social work students (N = 121) were assessed in Emotional Intelligence, Personality traits, social skills and academic achievement. Path analyses indicated that the contribution of personality on academic performance was mediated by socio-emotional mechanisms.

In fact, the results suggested that:
(a) students who exhibited higher Neuroticism and Extraversion scores had lower academic performance
(b) students who had higher Openness/Intellect scores exhibited higher academic performance.

To clarify the mixed results of previous studies concerning the impact of neuroticism, we suggest a moderating role of social skills. Finally, this study showed that Emotional intelligence and, concretely, the ability to perceive emotions revealed a negative indirect effect on academic achievement. The implications of these results for the incorporation emotional competencies into the university curriculum are discussed.

Keywords:

Emotional intelligence, social skills, personality, higher education, academic performance.