Quality is important for us at Kandidata Asia and our tools, methods and delivery of services are founded in research with a solid academic base. While most of our work is commercial we are proud to be involved in a number of research studies covering a wide range of topics from the effectiveness of leaders, to developing star profiles of sales people, communication between nursing staff in a multicultural hospital and the adjustment of orphaned children.
Over the last 6-7 years we have also seen a considerable growth in assignments coming from schools and universities. The link that has been established between EQ and academic performance and the reduction in drop out rates which universities in the US have seen since the introduction of EQ in their selection and introduction of students, has lead to an increased interest in Emotional Intelligence.
Emotional Intelligence affects not only our performance at work but how we deal with everyday life. We often get questions about EQ in childhood and yes, it certainly makes a difference how a child is brought up and whether there is an emphasis on social emotional development. EQ skills can be learned and developed later in life but the childhood years are the foundation and a child who is given the opportunity to play and learn the social codes of being part of a group will have an easier time when he or she gets out into the workplace. Many schools system focuses primarily on learning, sometimes route learning, leaving very little time to develop the social and emotional skills that are so important for children and a preparation for adulthood.
We have tested many thousands of school children ranging in ages from primary to high school with the Youth Version of the EQ-i and we are indeed finding that many children, while often high on intrapersonal skills such as self awareness, are often lacking in interpersonal skills and may feel lonely, left out and under pressure to perform at the expense of having very little “down time “and just enjoying being a child.
The importance of addressing and developing EQ in childhood and the important role that schools play in supporting EQ development is being addressed by an increasing number of school systems in such diverse parts of the world as Finland, Singapore, The US and the Philippines. Yale University opened a center for Social Emotional Learning last year and hopes to be a hub for research and practical applications of how to work with EQ i schools.
Kandidata Asia has worked with many school systems over the last 6 years and we have built up a considerable base of data, knowledge and experience. Please contact us for more information.