Interpersonal communication and emotional growth in schools: an interpretative model

Abstract

School failure in cultivating reason without being «contaminated» by feelings has shown the need to rethink the individual’s global education taking into account the role of affection in personal development processes that stimulate education centres. Facing the incipient trend of applying curricular programs to train pupils’ emotional, personal and social skills, in this article it is suggested that the observation of emotional behaviour is a good strategy when the aim is to improve relationships and to promote teachers and students affective maturity. The concept of emotion from a psycho-social perspective is reviewed and a structural model of feelings elicited in interactive learning situations and teachers meetings is proposed.