A Study of Level of Emotional Intelligence Among Adolescent Students Based on Gender.

Learning is a continuous process that depends as much on the student's careful recognition of their own knowledge as it does on the teacher or pedagogy. For a while, the intellect quotient has been used as the only indicator of a student's success but as the world approached the twenty-first century, research revealed that Emotional Quotient is a stronger predictor of success than other traditional measures of cognitive intellect. The performance of students will continue to be greatly influenced by their emotional intelligence, especially in the wake post the pandemic. The aim of the current research is to study the gender difference of emotional intelligence levels of junior college students and secondary school students. Irrespective of the level where the students are studying, the findings revealed that female students scored higher than their male counterparts on emotional intelligence scale.


INTRODUCTION
Every human action, response, and behaviour is significantly influenced by emotions. Emotionally intelligent people are able to recognise their own potential and use it to advance both personally and professionally. As a measure of a person's knowledge, skills, and talents not only in the educational institutions but also at the workplace, in one's personal life, and in terms of success in general, the idea of emotional intelligence (EI) has gained popularity over the past two decades as opposed to relying only on cognitive intelligence. Emotional intelligence needs to be taught in schools and colleges because it will help students manage their emotions better in a competitive world, reduce scholastic stress, and improve their decision-making skills. There is evidence that emotional intelligence benefits students' scholastic lives as well as their post-academic lives (Kant, 2019). After  thesis, which demonstrated that emotional intelligence is a crucial component of an individual's success path, the concept of emotional intelligence acquired popularity.
Students' success is evaluated based on a variety of factors, including their emotional intelligence (EQ), intrapersonal and interpersonal skills, self-awareness, self-control, and IQ, in order to face these challenges. The ability to differentiate between various emotions, both one's own and those of others, and to discern them using strategy processes in order to regulate and build one's attitude is known as emotional intelligence (EI). The ability to blend feeling and reason to increase enjoyment and efficiency, as well as emotional awareness and emotional management skills, is referred to as emotional intelligence. Emotional intelligence thus elaborated indicates a collection of skills, attitudes, talents and skills that influence the individual's behaviour, responses, state of mind, manner of coping and interaction fashion. These elements have a direct impact on an individual's degree of success, satisfaction, and interpersonal connection as well as their capacity to manage stress, their sense of self-worth, their view of control, and their general state of mental and emotional health. Within a societal notion, gender illustrates the social and cultural roles that boys and girls play. The gender position is not fixed in nature and can be altered, and it differs from society to society. It originates from society and consists of traits that apply to both males and women, such as expectations, societal roles, and interpersonal interactions. Further, motivating and for handling the feelings well in ourselves and in our relationships is the hour of the need. A person who has developed self-control, confidence, and a greater understanding of their feelings is said to be emotionally knowledgeable.

REVIEW OF RELATED LITERATURE
Research has shown that people with higher emotional quotients (EQ) use more operational wrangling techniques for problem-solving and have lower levels of physical issues, worry, and sadness. Increased levels of contentment are a result of emotional intelligence, which includes diagnosing one's strengths and weaknesses, learning to handle stress, cooperating well with others, being socially conscious, and developing strategies to support one's life goals.
In the settings of working organisations and educational institutions, including gender disparity, emotional intelligence is thoroughly researched. Girls score higher than males on emotional intelligence quotients, according to Punia and Sangwan (2011). For instance, in Barbados and St. Vincent, it was discovered at the intermediate school level that there was a significant gender disparity in scholastic performance. (Cumberbatch 1993; Fayombo 2010). Females exhibit dominant amounts of emotional intelligence, according to research by Makvana (2014) and Rooy, Alonso, and Viswesvaran (2004). Additionally, Kant (2019) did the research to examine the role of emotional intelligence in university students and to identify gender differences in emotional intelligence. Womanish scholars had a high Emotional Intelligence with a high mean value. Research based on a random sampling method was used to study the emotional intelligence of 300 Secondary School Students in Tamil Nadu,India. The result recorded that EI is autonomous of socio demographic factors however it was perceived that females persist better levels of emotional intelligence than males (Kumar, 2020). Das and Sahu( 2015), studied genderrelated variations in emotional intelligence among postgraduate scholars. The results revealed that womanish scholars had lesser situations of emotional intelligence than manly pupils. In Delhi, 10th graders, the EI of female students was demonstrated to be higher in comparison with their male counterparts (Joshi & Dutta, 2014 Shehzad & Mahmood, 2013). The investigators revisited this topic and looked at emotional intelligence in relation to gender in the initial environment as a result of these contradictory results.

METHODOLOGY, SAMPLE AND TOOL OF THE STUDY
The present research study adopted a quantitative research methodology using a descriptive survey in order to collect data. Assessing Emotions Scale, developed by Schutte, Malouff, and Bhullar (1998), was used and convenient sampling technique was adopted. The tool's reliability was evaluated. Cronbach's Alpha was found to be 0.92, Split-Half (odd-even) Correlation was found to be 0.83 and Split-Half with Spearman-Brown Adjustment was 0.90 which is high. Thus the tool was found to be reliable for the present study. Table 1.1 below represents the sample size of the present study and Figure 1.1 represents a bar chart depicting the sample size diagramatically. Out of total junior college students, 48.79% were males i.e. 142 students were males and 51.20% were females i.e. 149 of them were females.

SCOPE AND DELIMITATION OF THE STUDY
The study is restricted to only Secondary School Students and Junior College Students only thus inhibiting the EI levels of Primary School Students and Degree College Students. Geographically it is limited to the urban areas of Mumbai district. The study consisted of Emotional intelligence as a whole not considering its dimensions. Factors affecting Emotional Intelligence like Socio-Economic Status, Psychological Well-Being, Family Structure, etc apart from gender and age were not considered.

HYPOTHESIS TESTING AND INTERPRETATION
Following null hypothesis was framed for the present study. 1. There is no significant difference in the level of Emotional Intelligence among Secondary School Students and Junior College Students based on gender.  120, 122, 140 and 22.05 respectively. The skewness was found to be -0.63 which is negative. The Kurtosis was found to be 0.28 which is positive, thus the distribution is leptokurtic by nature. The Mean, Median, Mode and Standard Deviation value for all Female Secondary School Students was found to be 132, 135, 142 and 16.93 respectively. The skewness was found to be -0.56 which is negative. The Kurtosis was found to be -0.16 which is negative, thus the distribution is platykurtic by nature.The t value for Male and Female Secondary School Students was found to be 4.16. The p value was found to be < .0001 which is less than 0.01, thus it is significant. Therefore, null hypothesis is rejected. There is a significant difference between the emotional intelligence of Male and Female Secondary School Students. Male Secondary School Students' mean scores are lower than Female Secondary School Students', indicating that Female Secondary School Students have a greater level of emotional intelligence than Male Secondary School Students.
The Mean, Median, Mode and Standard Deviation value for Junior College Male Students was found to be 112, 114, 92 and 26.93 respectively. The skewness was found to be -0.34 which is negative. The Kurtosis was found to be -0.81 which is negative, thus the distribution is platykurtic by nature. The Mean, Median, Mode and Standard Deviation value for Junior College Female Students was found to be 132, 135, 136 and 16.93 respectively. The skewness was found to be -1.11 which is negative. The Kurtosis was found to be 2.55 which is positive, thus the distribution is leptokurtic by nature.The t value for Male and Female Junior College Students was found to be 7.27. The p value was found to be < .0001 which is less than 0.01, thus it is significant. Therefore, null hypothesis is rejected. There is a significant difference between the emotional intelligence of Male and Female Junior College Students. Male Junior College Students' mean scores are lower than Female Junior College Students', indicating that Female Junior College Students have a greater level of emotional intelligence than Male Junior College Students.

DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION
Numerous research studies have been conducted to examine and categorise the emotional intelligence of students in classroom and committee settings. This study looked at the level of emotional intelligence among high school academics. The current research findings showed that while comparing female and male students enrolled in junior colleges or secondary schools, female students have greater levels of emotional intelligence (EI). Similar findings were obtained by Kafetsios (2004) where a statistically significant difference on gender was found with female scoring high on emotional intelligence. According to some studies girls have strong emotional intelligence than male (Patel, 2017).
The emphasis of emotional intelligence on managing and expressing emotions as well as social abilities may help to explain the present results. . It has been established that women are more emotionally open than men, that they comprehend feelings better, and that they have some relationship skills better than men. Nevertheless, there is yet a notion that women are the more "emotional" sex, and they typically have an edge over men in terms of basic living skills. (Sanchez-Nunez et al., 2008). In addition, women differ from guys. Women's minds, for instance, like to dwell on such feelings when the other person is irate or when the emotions are distressing. Contrarily, men's brains only briefly register feelings before tuning out and moving to other brain regions that work to address the issue that is causing the disturbance. As a consequence, men claim that women are too sensitive while women accuse men of being emotionally distant-a neurological difference. ). Only about 20% of career achievement is predicted by IQ, leaving the other 80% to other variables like emotional intelligence. (Pool ,1997). Those with high emotional intelligence have the capacity to manage themselves, form good relationships, and are conscious of their personal needs, strengths, and weaknesses. It is advised that educational schools and institutions take emotional intelligence into consideration in order to increase the competence of teacher educators and student teachers. To guarantee emotional development, the concept of emotional intelligence should be taught in schools. In this competitive climate, a person's level of achievement has emerged as the key factor influencing how their personal, academic, and social lives will evolve.
By developing their ability to use both the emotional and rational sides of their minds, students will not only increase the range of choices available to them when reacting to a new event, but they will also incorporate emotional memory into their decision-making. This will help students prevent repeating their prior errors. These results are evidence that, with the right self-reflection guidance and assistant support, difficulties can help produce chances for beneficial personal and professional development. Teachers can keep urging students to think back on the difficulties they have surmounted as a springboard for significant future development, allowing them to become more emotionally secure members of society.