In this post, we’ll consider the benefits of Emotion Coaching in an educational setting. To gain an insight into what Emotion Coaching is, please see our previous blog post ‘What is Emotion Coaching?’.
So, why is it so helpful to be using Emotion Coaching with children?
Well, as we know, children’s brains are very plastic – they are constantly re-wiring based on their experiences, what they are using and what they are not using. This means we can have a big impact on children in early years right up to late adolescence. If an adult is empathising, labelling, validating and problem solving, a child will pick that up as an appropriate way to self-regulate. Because young children (and sometimes older based on developmental needs) are still right-brain dominant, they will rely heavily on their emotional brain and therefore this adult guidance is crucial, and Emotion Coaching offers a high guidance, high empathy approach.
Shouldn’t Emotion Coaching just be used by parents?
Some may be thinking that the role of Emotion Coach is one that should be taken on by parents, and whilst this is certainly beneficial, the more adults that are displaying Emotion Coaching techniques, the more embedded this approach to navigating emotions will become for the child. Children do not learn how to regulate emotions on their own, they learn it through social experiences which is further strengthened by repetition. Therefore, if Emotion Coaching is being modelled in school and at home, the child is much more likely to effectively self-regulate.
What are the benefits of using Emotion Coaching?
Gottman outlined clear benefits of using Emotion Coaching for children. Children who were exposed to Emotion Coaching were:
- More emotionally stable
- More resilient
- Achieved more academically
- More popular with peers
- Had fewer behavioural problems
- Had fewer infectious diseases
Despite the obvious direct benefits to the child, this has a knock-on effect on their presence in a classroom. A child who is emotion coached would (based on the research) get along better with peers, have better attendance, require less additional support and could better manage the increasing demands of academic life through self-regulation.
Not only this, Ofsted’s criteria for an ‘outstanding’ school included the use of Emotion Coaching as an evidence-based approach to dealing with behaviour in the moment.
If you would like to find out more about implementing Emotion Coaching, see our latest training programme: Emotion Coaching – Introduction for School Staff (training4schools.com).
References:
Gottman, J., and Declaire, J. (1997). Raising an emotionally intelligent child. The heart of parenting. Simon & Schuster: New York
Siegel, D., and Payne Bryson, T. (2011). The whole brain child. Constable & Robinson Ltd.: London
The Gottman Institute website: https://www.gottman.com/
