AUTHOR=Sánchez-Álvarez Nicolás , Berrios Martos María Pilar , Extremera Natalio 

TITLE=A Meta-Analysis of the Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Academic Performance in Secondary Education: A Multi-Stream Comparison

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01517

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2020.01517

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<p>This study was a quantitative meta-analysis of empirical research on the relationship between emotional intelligence (EI) and academic performance (AP) that included the three main theoretical models of EI. We conducted a computerized literature search in the main electronic databases. Forty-four of an initial 3,210 articles met the inclusion criteria. With 49 effect sizes and a cumulative sample size of 19,861 participants, we found significant heterogeneity indices indicating a variety of results. In general, the results of this study indicated a significant effect of EI on AP (<inline-formula><mml:math id="M1" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mover accent="false" class="mml-overline"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>Z</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mo accent="true">¯</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:math></inline-formula> = 0.26). Average association between EI and AP was higher in studies measured EI as ability (<inline-formula><mml:math id="M2" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mover accent="false" class="mml-overline"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>Z</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mo accent="true">¯</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:math></inline-formula> = 0.31), than studies measured EI as self-report (<inline-formula><mml:math id="M3" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mover accent="false" class="mml-overline"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>Z</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mo accent="true">¯</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:math></inline-formula> = 0.24), and self-report mixed EI (<inline-formula><mml:math id="M4" xmlns:mml="http://www.w3.org/1998/Math/MathML"><mml:mover accent="false" class="mml-overline"><mml:mrow><mml:mi>Z</mml:mi></mml:mrow><mml:mo accent="true">¯</mml:mo></mml:mover></mml:math></inline-formula> = 0.26). In the educational field, this meta-analysis provides information on the specific role of EI as a function of used measures. Some practical implications are discussed.</p>