Influence of Emotional Intelligence on Academic Achievement among Geography Pre-Service Teachers in Colleges of Education, North-West, Nigeria
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.64348/zije.2026484Abstract
This study investigated the predictive influence of emotional intelligence on the academic achievement of Geography pre-service teachers in Colleges of Education in Northwestern Nigeria. The study was motivated by concerns over the low academic achievement of Geography pre-service teachers and the need to identify factors that could enhance their academic achievement. Guided by one research objective, one research question, and one null hypothesis, the study adopted a correlational research design. A sample of 285 Geography pre-service teachers was selected from a population of 1,089 using a multistage sampling technique. Data were collected using the Geography Pre-service Teacher Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (GPTEI-Q) and the NCE II Geography Academic Proforma (NCE-GAP). The GPTEI-Q demonstrated satisfactory validity and reliability, with a Cronbach’s Alpha coefficient of 0.85, a face validity index of 91%, a content validity index of 89%, and construct validity was confirmed through Exploratory Factor Analysis (EFA) and Confirmatory Factor Analysis (CFA) for the questionnaire. While the NCE-GAP was reviewed by five validators, with face validity indices of 100%. Data were analyzed using mean, standard deviation, Pearson correlation, scatterplot, and linear regression. The findings revealed that emotional intelligence had a positive relationship with academic achievement (r = 0.27) and significantly predicted academic achievement (p = 0.001 < 0.05). The study recommends integrating emotional intelligence training into Geography teacher education programmes to enhance academic achievement and professional development.
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