Developing Emotional Intelligence of Grade 7 Students through Problem-Solving Skills-Based Learning

Abstract

This research aimed to 1) compare the emotional intelligence of Grade 7 students before and after learning with problem-solving skills to promote emotional intelligence and 2) compare the academic achievement of Grade 7 students before and after learning with problem-solving skills to promote emotional intelligence. The sample group was 37 Grade 7 students from one classroom at Sriboonyanon School during the first semester of the 2025 academic year. The research instruments included a health education lesson plan on refusal skills and the prevention of sexual abuse, an emotional intelligence assessment for adolescents (12-17 years old) from the Department of Mental Health, Ministry of Public Health (2000), and an academic achievement test. The results showed that 1) the emotional intelligence of the sample group in the dimensions of "Competence," "Morality," and "Happiness," as well as overall emotional intelligence, was significantly higher after the intervention than before, at a statistical significance level of .05. 2) The average academic achievement scores of the Grade 7 students before and after the intervention were 26.16 and 29.05, respectively. The post-test scores were significantly higher than the pre-test scores, at a statistical significance level of .05.