Abstract

Emotional intelligence (EI) is involved in perceiving emotions, assimilating emotion-related feelings, and understanding and managing those emotions. It has also been related to higher academic achievement and improved dentist-patient relationships in dental education and clinical practices. The researchers aimed to determine the relationship between the levels of EI and academic achievement of preclinical dentistry students at a private dental university in the Philippines. Using purposive sampling, an online survey was distributed to a sample of 220 students. The instrument, Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence Test (SSEIT), consists of 33 items scored as 1- strongly disagree, 2- disagree, 3- either agree or disagree, 4- agree, and 5- strongly agree. Academic achievement was recorded with the collection of the respondents’ General Weighted Average (GWA) for their previous completed semester. The gathered data was analyzed through descriptive statistics after using the Statistical Package for Social Science (SPSS) software. Spearman’s rho analysis was used to identify the relationship between EI and academic achievement. This study revealed that the majority of the students are of high EI, with a mean EI score of 120.59 (73%). All GWA mean score interpretations were recorded to be ‘Good’ despite the respondents’ EI level. Moreover, the results showed that there is no significant relationship that existed between the EI levels and academic achievement of preclinical dentistry students. Further studies can be made using other measures of academic achievement like standardized IQ tests and using other variables such as age, gender and student’s status.