Emotional Intelligence as a Primary Goal of Education

Abstract

            Martha Nussbaum argues that education should aim to cultivate global citizens. Focusing on liberal arts education at the collegiate level, she encourages epistemologies that allow students to acknowledge their places in the wider world, as well as take on the perspectives of others not just in their own regions but across the globe. I wish to extend this idea and argue that education that promotes critical self-reflection and the development of empathic practices should not be introduced solely at the collegiate level, but should be the persistent purpose of education from the moment a student enters school. Using Nussbaum's assertions as a departure point, I will make the case for education for emotional intelligence. Educators and the institutions in which they work bear the responsibility of equipping students with the knowledge of their own emotions and how to express them, the emotions of others, and how to relate to and communicate with others effectively.