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The Case for Emotional Literacy: Theinfluence of emotional intelligenceon problem behaviours in Malaysiansecondary school studentsAlbert K. Liau a , Agnes W. L. Liau b , George B. S. Teoh b & MichaelT. L. Liau ca National Institute of Education , Singaporeb University Science of Malaysiac Seameo-Recsam , MalaysiaPublished online: 03 Aug 2010.

To cite this article: Albert K. Liau , Agnes W. L. Liau , George B. S. Teoh & Michael T. L. Liau(2003) The Case for Emotional Literacy: The influence of emotional intelligence on problembehaviours in Malaysian secondary school students, Journal of Moral Education, 32:1, 51-66, DOI:10.1080/0305724022000073338

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Journal of Moral Education, Vol. 32, No. 1, 2003

The Case for Emotional Literacy:the influence of emotionalintelligence on problem behavioursin Malaysian secondary schoolstudentsALBERT K. LIAUNational Institute of Education, Singapore

AGNES W. L. LIAU & GEORGE B. S. TEOHUniversity Science of Malaysia

MICHAEL T. L. LIAUSEAMEO-RECSAM, Malaysia

ABSTRACT There has been a recent renaissance in civics and moral education in theAsia-Pacific region. The need to incorporate the notion of emotional literacy into suchprogrammes is discussed and results from the analysis of the influence that emotional literacy hason problem behaviours in Malaysian secondary school students are presented. Results indicatedthat emotional literacy, measured in terms of emotional intelligence, was linked to internalisingand externalising problem behaviours. Emotional literacy also served as a moderating factorbetween parental monitoring and externalising problem behaviours. The need for developingemotional literacy programmes utilising the pedagogy of multiliteracies is discussed.

Introduction

Educators have long realised the need for emotional literacy. The importance ofemotional literacy is very much old-fashioned and goes back to the acquisition ofcharacter, something much missed these days, but as Etzioni (1994) extols:“character, the psychological muscle that moral conduct requires, is necessary”.Even earlier, John Dewey (1909) had spoken of the need for emotional literacy,which he saw as moral education. This, to him, was more potent when lessons aretaught to children in the course of real events if these lessons were not to be justabstract lessons, but formulated for emotional literacy. The cornerstone in edu-cation for emotional literacy, character building, is to help children acquire the skills,

ISSN 0305-7240 print; ISSN 1465-3877 online/03/010051-16 2003 Journal of Moral Education LtdDOI: 10.1080/0305724022000073338

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52 A. K. Liau et al.

the attitudes and the dispositions that will help them live well, and that will enablethem the common good to flourish (Ryan, 1986). As Lickona (1991) has concluded:“we need to be in control of ourselves—our appetites, our passions—to do right byothers”.

There is a dire need to bring about a curriculum for emotional literacy. Schoolsdefinitely have to remember their essential role to cultivate character by developingself-discipline and empathy, two fundamentally important ingredients to pinpoint,promote and popularise civic and moral values (Etzioni, 1994). In this paper, theneed to incorporate the notion of emotional literacy into civics and moral educationprogrammes is discussed. Results from our analyses of the influence that emotionalliteracy has on problem behaviours in Malaysian secondary school students arepresented.

It is important to know what emotional literacy is. It is sad to find out thedamage, destruction and despondencies that can result from the absence ofemotional literacy. This real phenomenon comes from a mismatch in educationalobjectives, which have set out a curriculum for academic abilities, but have appar-ently left a vacuum for individuals to lead lives shrouded in emotional illiteracy. Oneteacher has aptly recognised such a sad state of affairs: “we care more about howwell schoolchildren can read and write than whether they’ll be alive next week”.

The problem of emotional illiteracy is global. At the Eighth United NationsCongress on the Prevention of Crime and the Treatment of Offenders, delegatesfrom all regions of the world reported on the problem of juvenile delinquents(United Nations, 1990). Typically, delegates reported that delinquency was aproblem throughout the countries of their region. The North American and Eu-ropean regions reported increases in delinquency since World War II and continueto view juvenile offences as a serious problem. In the Asian/Pacific region, youth inurban areas statistically constituted the most criminally active portion of the popu-lation, and were involved in violent and drug-related crimes (Reichel, 1999). InMalaysia, this emotional illiteracy has given rise to a number of problem behavioursamong the youth. Researchers have reported that there has been a concern aboutproblem behaviours such as the destruction of property, stealing and drug use (Md.Areff & Chang, 1994). Hence, drugs and delinquency are global problems, whichare real and can be alleviated if educators can come to a consensus recognising thatemotional illiteracy can be best averted if the root causes are understood andaddressed.

The Rise of Civics and Moral Education in the Asia-Pacific Region

In response to the rise of antisocial behaviour among youth, there has been a recentrenaissance in civics and moral education in the Asia-Pacific region. In Australia, anational report entitled, Whereas the People … Civics and Citizenship Education(Government of Australia, 1994) has put forward a major new initiative to enforcethe teaching of civics in the formal curriculum. Cogan and Morris (2001) reportedthat in Japan, Taiwan and Thailand, forthcoming revisions in the school curriculumsyllabi in the next few years will include significant changes to the area of civics

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Emotional Literacy 53

education. Amidst the political transition that Hong Kong is experiencing, there isalso a renewed interested in civics and moral education. A new formal moraleducation program known as “Civics and Moral Education” has been incorporatedinto the Singapore an primary and secondary school curriculum (Chew, 1998).

In Malaysia, the Ministry of Education has re-emphasised that the aim of theNational Philosophy of Education is to “produce Malaysian citizens who areknowledgeable and competent, who possess high moral standards, and who areresponsible and capable of achieving high levels of personal well-being as well asbeing able to contribute to the harmony and betterment of the family, the society,and the nation at large” (Ministry of Education, 1987). Moral education is incorpor-ated in the national curriculum, namely as values across the curriculum, as a formalschool subject called “Moral Education” for non-Muslim students, and as a compo-nent in the “Islamic Education” subject for Muslim students (Md. Aroff & Chang,1994). These values, which are 17 in number, have been incorporated into theprimary and secondary school curriculum (Haris, 1997).[1]

Similarly, the last decade has seen a rapid, growing interest in research on civicsand moral education. Recent key examples includes studies by Torney-Purta et al.(1999) and Kennedy (1997). Special issues of periodicals such as the InternationalJournal of Educational Research (e.g. Cogan & Morris, 2001), the International Journalof Social Education (e.g. Cogan, 2000), and the Asian Pacific Journal of Education(e.g. Liu, 2000) have included collaborative work of researchers on civics and moraleducation in the Asia-Pacific region, as well as North America.

The Need for Emotional Literacy Based on a Pedagogy of Multiliteracies

The resurgence of research in this area has initiated an invigorated debate about howformal and informal institutions influence the development of children and adoles-cents. Torney-Purta (2000) suggested that the important message that has emergedis that “scholars need to move beyond a narrow view of outcomes and inputs to thepolitical socialization process, taking a more complex, reciprocal, and situated view”(p. 94).

In fact, the authors proposed that any new approach to civics and moraleducation should incorporate the concept of emotional literacy based on a pedagogyof multiliteracies (Liau et al., 2001). The pedagogy of multiliteracies was proposedby Cope and Kalantzis (2000), and basically asserts that change in our working,public and personal lives has caused a change in our culture, and how we communi-cate. This change is a result of the “growing significance of cultural and linguisticdiversity”, as well as the “influence of new communication technologies”, wherebymeaning is communicated in ways that are multi-modal (Kalantzis & Cope, 1999).Thus, this change would necessitate a shift in determining what literacy actuallyencompasses and how one should teach literacy. In view of this, literacy teachingdoes not necessarily involve merely the teaching of reading and writing. Thefundamental purpose of education “is to ensure that all students benefit fromlearning in ways that allow them to participate fully in public, community, andeconomic life” (New London Group, 2000, p. 9). With emotional literacy, it is

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hoped that students and educators will be able to manage the increasing demandsof change in our daily life. This conceptualisation of emotional literacy has beendescribed in detail in Liau et al. (2001).

This study is part of a larger project that seeks to investigate the emotionalliteracy practices and awareness among Malaysian students, and to identify theproblems and challenges faced by educators in implementing curricula related toemotional literacy. The initiative is consistent with the Malaysian National Philoso-phy of Education’s effort to produce a caring society of Vision 2020 (Ministry ofEducation, 1987). By examining the influence of emotional literacy on problembehaviours in Malaysian students, the present study represented a preliminary stepin highlighting the importance of expanding conceptions of literacy, as situated inthe rapid globalisation of contemporary society.

In this study, emotional literacy was assessed by measuring the level ofemotional intelligence of the secondary school students. Emotional intelligence hasbeen defined as the “capacity to process emotional information accurately andefficiently, including the capacity to perceive, assimilate, understand and manageemotion” (Mayer & Cobb, 2000, p. 165). While the notion of emotional intelligencehas become fashionable in the popular press (Goleman, 1995), numerous re-searchers remain sceptical regarding the construct validity of such a concept (Mayer& Cobb, 2000). For instance, Davies et al., (1998) dismissed self-report measures ofemotional intelligence as unreliable. Nevertheless, more recent studies have foundevidence of reliable and valid self-report measures (Bar-On, 1997; Schutte et al.,1998; Mayer et al., 1999).

The Influence of Emotional Intelligence on Problem Behaviours

Various researchers have argued that the emotional intelligence is vital to the healthypsycho-social development of children (Goleman, 1995). Conversely, the lack ofemotional intelligence in children could be associated with a variety of internalisingand externalising problem behaviours. For example, lower levels of emotionalintelligence have been found to be associated with lower levels of empathy and theinability to manage moods (Ciarrochi et al., 2000), higher levels of alexithymia(Parker et al., 2001), as well as higher levels of depression, neuroticism, somaticsymptomatology, and stress (Dawda & Hart, 2000). In regards to externalisingbehaviours, lower levels of emotional intelligence are associated with lower levels ofacademic achievement (Bar-On, 1997), higher levels of tobacco and alcohol use(Trinidad & Johnson, 2002), and higher levels of sexual offending (Tidmarsh et al.,2001). In the present study, higher levels of emotional literacy, measured byemotional intelligence, were hypothesised to be associated with lower levels ofinternalising problem behaviours, such as academic anxiety, depression, somaticcomplaints and stress, as well as lower levels of externalising problem behaviours,such as aggression and delinquency.

Research has also shown that emotional intelligence has an indirect, moderatinginfluence on mental health. For example, Ciarrochi et al. (2002) found that stresswas related to greater suicidal ideation among those low in emotional intelligence.

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Given the importance of parental influence in Asian cultures and the key roleparents play in the moral development of children, the present study examinedwhether low levels of emotional intelligence may serve as an important risk factorthat may moderate the relationship between parental monitoring and externalisingproblem behaviours. Numerous studies have documented the inverse relationshipbetween parental monitoring and externalising problem behaviours (Steinberg et al.,1994; Mounts, 2001). In investigating this relationship, researchers have alsosuggested there is a need to identify interactions between risk and protective factorsin the prediction of problem behaviour (Jessor et al., 1995). Hence, in this study, therole of emotional intelligence as a potential risk factor influencing such behaviourswas explored.

Method

Participants

Participants for the current study were 203 secondary school students from foururban Malaysian schools. The schools were chosen to represent both the “science”and “vocational” streams present in the Malaysian education system. The studentswere all in Form Four, with a mean age of 15.9 (S.D. � .44); 48% were girls and52% boys. Fifty five per cent of the students were Malay, 41% were Chinese and 4%were Indian.

Measures

The students completed a pencil-and-paper survey in the classroom. Students weretold that they were participating in a study to assess the level of emotional literacyin Malaysian schools and that the information they provided would be keptconfidential. While Malay is the national language in Malaysia, English is a compul-sory second language subject for all students. The survey administered was inEnglish as the measures were validated in English. However, to ensure that allstudents understood the directions, students were given instructions in Malay,English and Chinese. The survey contained the following four scales.

Emotional intelligence. The level of emotional literacy was assessed using a 33-itemself-report scale measuring emotional intelligence. Respondents used a 5-point scaleon which 1 represented “strongly disagree” and 5 represented “strongly agree” toeach item. The scale included items like “By looking at their facial expressions, Irecognize the emotions people are experiencing” and “I expect that I will do well onmost things I try”. The authors of the scale (Schutte et al., 1998) used Salovey andMayer’s (1990) model of emotional intelligence to generate the items. The scale hasshown a high level of internal consistency (� � 0.87) and also high test-retestreliability (r � 0.78). The validity of the scale was supported by its correlation withtheoretically related constructs, including alexithymia, attention to feelings, clarity of

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feelings, mood repair, optimism and impulse control (Schutte et al., 1998). For thepresent study, the Cronbach’s � � 0.76.

Internalising problem behaviours. To assess internalising problem behaviours, weused items from Crystal et al.’s (1994) questionnaire on psychological maladjust-ment. We used this questionnaire because the items were developed so that theywould be relevant to Asian cultures. Stress was assessed with the following ques-tions: “How often do you feel stressed (under pressure)?” Depression was assessedby: “How often do you feel depressed?” Academic anxiety was measured by athree-item scale consisting of the following questions: “How worried do you getabout keeping up with your schoolwork? How nervous do you get when the teacherhands back tests? How nervous do you get while you are taking a test?” The scalefor somatic complaints consisted of eight sub-items: “In the past month, how oftenhave you: (a) felt tired for no reason, (b) had a headache, (c) had a stomach ache,(d) had trouble sleeping, (e) lost your appetite, (f) overeaten, (g) had diarrhea, (h)had frequent urination?” Respondents used a five-point scale on which 1 � “Never”,2 � “Once in a while”, 3 � “Sometimes”, 4 � “Usually”, and 5 � “Almost EveryDay”. The academic anxiety and somatic complaint scales exhibited good reliabilityin Crystal et al.’s (1994) study. In the present study, the Cronbach’s � were 0.66 and0.65 for the academic anxiety, and somatic complaints scales, respectively.

Externalising problem behaviours. We assessed externalising problem behaviours bymeasuring levels of aggression and delinquency. The aggression scale was also takenfrom Crystal et al.’s (1994) questionnaire on psychological maladjustment. It con-sisted of the following four items: “In the past month, how often have you: (a) feltlike hitting someone, (b) felt like destroying something, (c) gotten into seriousarguments or fights with other students, (d) felt angry at your teacher.” Respondentsused a five-point scale on which 1 � “Never”, 2 � “Once in a while”,3 � “Sometimes”, 4 � “Usually”, and 5 � “Almost Every Day”. The aggression scaleexhibited high internal consistencies (Crystal et al., 1994). Delinquency was assessedby an eight-item scale adapted from a delinquency scale used in Rowe and Flannery(1994). Respondents used a four-point scale on which 1 � “Never”,2 � “Sometimes”, 3 � “Often”, and 4 � “Almost Every Day”. The scale includeditems like “Have you stolen something?” and “Do you hang out with kids who getinto trouble at school?” The scale had a Cronbach’s � of 0.81. Self-report Likertscales have been shown to be highly reliable and valid measures of delinquencybehaviour (Hindelang et al., 1981). In the present study, the Cronbach’s � were 0.64and 0.75 for aggression and delinquency, respectively.

Parental monitoring. Parental monitoring was assessed by a five-item scale adaptedfrom a scale used by Flannery et al. (1996). The scale has items like “Do yourparents know where you are after school?” and “Do your parents know who yourfriends are?” Respondents used a four-point scale on which 1 � “Never”,

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2 � “Sometimes”, 3 � “Often”, and 4 � “Almost Every Day”. For the present study,the Cronbach’s � was 0.71.

Results

Correlational Analyses

To investigate the relations among emotional intelligence, internalising problembehaviours, externalising problem behaviours and parental monitoring, Pearsoncorrelation coefficients were calculated for all the variables: Emotional Intelligence,Stress, Depression, Academic Anxiety, Somatic Complaints, Aggression, Delin-quency and Parental Monitoring. Emotional Intelligence was significantly correlatednegatively with Stress, Depression, Somatic Complaints, Aggression and Delin-quency, and positively correlated with Parental Monitoring (see Table I for details).The correlation between Emotional Intelligence and Academic Anxiety was notsignificant.

Hierarchical Regression Analyses

To investigate the role of emotional intelligence as a risk or protective factor, in theprediction of problem behaviour, analyses were conducted following the recommen-dation of Cohen and Cohen (1983). Specifically, hierarchical multiple regressionregressions were calculated, with an interaction term entered on the final step. Tworegression equations were run—in the first, aggression was the dependent variable,and in the second, delinquency was the dependent variable. To test the secondhypothesis that Emotional Intelligence would moderate the relation betweenParental Monitoring and Aggression/Delinquency, the main effect of Parental Moni-toring was entered first in both regression equations. Next, the main effect ofEmotional Intelligence was entered. In the third step, the Parental Monitoring XEmotional Intelligence interaction term was entered. A moderator effect would beindicated if, on the third step, the interaction effect was significant (Cohen & Cohen,1983). As can be seen in Table II, Emotional Intelligence was a significant moder-ator in both of the associations between Parental Monitoring and Aggression, as wellas Parental Monitoring and Delinquency.

Post hoc analyses to explore the nature of the interaction effect was conductedas recommended by Aiken and West (1991). For each dependent variable, separateregression equations were calculated to represent the relationship between ParentalMonitoring and the dependent variable (Aggression or Delinquency) at a high levelof emotional intelligence, defined as 1 SD above the mean, and at a low level ofemotional intelligence, defined as 1 SD below the mean (see Fig. 1). Post hocanalyses indicated that for a low level of emotional intelligence, Parental Monitoringdoes not predict Aggression [t(199) � 0.185, NS], nor Delinquency [t(199) � 1.66,NS]. However, at a high level of emotional intelligence, Parental Monitoringsignificantly predicts Aggression [t(199) � 3.142, P � 0.01] and Delinquency[t(199) � 4.44, P � 0.01].

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58 A. K. Liau et al.

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Emotional Literacy 59

TABLE II. Results of hierarchical regressions testing the moderating effect of Emotional Intelligence for theassociation between Parental Monitoring with Aggression and Delinquency

Predictor variable R2 R2 change B (beta)

Equation for Aggression as the dependent variableand Emotional Intelligence as a moderator

Step 1: Parental Monitoring 0.05** 0.05** � 0.27 ( � 0.23)**Step 2: Emotional Intelligence 0.12*** 0.07*** � 0.02 ( � 0.26)***Step 3: Parental Monitoring � Emotional 0.14*** 0.02* � 0.02 ( � 0.14)*

IntelligenceEquation for Delinquency as the dependentvariable and Emotional Intelligence as a moderator

Step 1: Parental Monitoring 0.12*** 0.12*** � 0.20 ( � 0.35)***Step 2: Emotional Intelligence 0.17*** 0.05** � 0.008( � 0.24)**Step 3: Parental Monitoring � Emotional 0.19*** 0.02* � 0.007( � 0.13)*

Intelligence

*P � 0.05; **P � 0.01; ***P � 0.001.

Discussion

The present study has highlighted the importance of developing emotional literacyin Malaysian secondary students. Lower levels of emotional literacy, measured interms of emotional intelligence, was linked with higher levels of internalisingproblem behaviours such as stress, depression, somatic complaints and with higherlevels of externalising problem behaviours such as aggression and delinquency. Highlevels of such problem behaviours in childhood and adolescence was associated withpsychological maladjustment in adolescence and adulthood. For instance, internalis-ing problem behaviours have been found to be linked with suicide and mooddisorders (Adcock et al., 1991). High levels of aggression in childhood have beenfound to predict adult criminal behaviour and other antisocial behaviours (Hues-mann et al., 1984). Hence, as emotional literacy was inversely linked to suchproblem behaviours, it may serve as an important risk factor where low levels ofemotional literacy may predispose adolescents to maladaptive developmental out-comes.

The importance of emotional literacy as an individual risk factor was alsohighlighted by its role as a moderating factor between parental Monitoring andexternalising problem behaviours (aggression and delinquency). Specifically, at highlevels of Emotional Intelligence, there was an inverse relationship between ParentalMonitoring with Aggression and Delinquency. However, at low levels of EmotionalIntelligence, Parental Monitoring was not associated with Aggression and Delin-quency. As the inverse relationship between parental monitoring and externalisingproblem behaviours is a fairly robust one (e.g. Steinberg, et al., 1994; Mounts,2001), the moderating effect of emotional intelligence was a key finding in thepresent study, as it suggests that this relationship does not exist at low levels ofemotional intelligence.

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FIG. 1. The moderating effects of Emotional Intelligence on the relationship between Parental Monitoringwith Aggression and Delinquency.

The evidence of a moderating effect also suggests that although there isextensive research on the concept of parental monitoring, there is very little researchexamining more specific parenting behaviours and how they influence adolescents(Mounts, 2001). Parental monitoring itself is a broad construct. For instance,Mounts (2001) found that parents employ a number of different methods ofmonitoring their adolescents’ peer relationships. These techniques included pro-hibiting an adolescent from interacting with a particular peer, encouraging contactwith peers that the parents considered desirable, and discussing with their adoles-cents about the consequences of associating with particular peers. Furthermore,parental monitoring may operate within different parenting styles. Darling & Stein-berg (1993) suggested that parenting style is the emotional climate of the parent/adolescent relationships, whereas parenting practices, such as methods ofmonitoring, are more specific parenting behaviours that focus on particular goals(Mounts, 2001).

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Emotional Literacy 61

As supported by Parke (1994), parents influence the development of theirchildren’s emotional regulation in three different ways: “(a) by indirect exposure toparental and familial interactions; (b) by teaching and coaching; and (c) by regulat-ing opportunities in the environment” (Brenner & Salovey, 1997, p. 177). Forinstance, when parents have difficulty controlling anger and hostility, their childrentend to have similar problems (Cummings & Davies, 1994). In regard to a moredirect influence, parents who encourage their children to express emotion in sociallyappropriate ways are more likely to have empathic, emotionally expressive children(Eisenberg et al., 1991). Finally, the opportunities that parents provide for theirchildren, which include the type of media to which they are exposed, and the friendswith whom they play, may influence the development of children’s emotionalregulation (Parke, 1994).

Brenner and Salovey (1997) argued that like parents, teachers also socialiseemotions in students in the same ways by indirectly exposing students to theirinteractions with other peers and teachers, by directly teaching or coaching students,and by exposing students to different opportunities in the environment. In fact, ourmodel of emotional literacy, based on the pedagogy of multiliteracies, utilises thesethree modes of interpersonal influence. In response to the rapid globalisation anddiversification of society, the pedagogy of multiliteracies argues for a complexintegration of four factors: Overt Instruction, Critical Framing, Situated Practiceand Transformed Practice (New London Group, 2000).

Briefly, Overt Instruction comes from a tradition of many teacher-centeredtransmission pedagogies, from traditional grammar to direct instruction (New Lon-don Group, 2000). It includes active interventions on the part of the teacher thatscaffolds learning activities, and that allow the learner to gain explicit information.However, recent work in cognitive science and sociocultural approaches to literacy(e.g. Rogoff, 1990), argue that immersion of learners in authentic versions of skillpractice is necessary to master the skill; this immersion would be Situated Practice.

Although Overt Instruction and Situated Practice would create the environmentnecessary to learn and develop a skill, other components are needed to create a morecomprehensive understanding. Critical Framing, involves the teaching of the abilityto critique a system and its relation to other systems. In other words, learners areaware of the “why” and not just the “how” of a skill. Transformed Practice involvesdemonstrating that students can design and carry out new practices in variouscontexts.

This pedagogy of multiliteracies would provide an appropriate framework forconceptualising emotional literacy. Analogous to Overt Instruction, the first compo-nent of emotional literacy would be the direct teaching of basic values and socialskills. These basic values like care, respect, and responsibility (Lickona, 1991) wouldprovide the foundation or scaffolding for students to function as emotionally literatecitizens. Critical Framing is consistent with the notion of meta-cognition that isdescribed by developmental psychologists as the ability to think about one’s ownthinking. In the development of a healthy functioning adult, psychologists haveargued for the importance of this type of meta-ability beyond just meta-cognition,but toward a meta-ability of emotions—what some refer to as emotional intelligence

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(Goleman, 1995, Mayer & Cobb, 2000). Critical Framing would help children learnwhy basic values like care and respect are important, and to learn how to develop acritical ability to monitor one’s own as well as others’ emotions.

As efficacious pedagogy needs to involve Situated Practice, i.e. immersion inmeaningful practices within the community, emotional literacy should also involvethe development of a moral community—within the classroom, the school, as wellas the neighborhood. Students would then have indirect exposure to a moralcommunity that would involve parents, be based on a system of caring and fairness,and serve both as a moral good it itself, as well as a support system for the moralcharacter development of each individual (Lickona, 1991).

Finally, the pedagogy has to be complemented with Transformed Practice thatwould involve giving students opportunities to practice the emotional skills they havelearned. Service-based projects and involvement of the students with their families,and their communities would be excellent opportunities for Transformed Practice.A recent study showed that students’ involvement in service learning, not onlyimproved the students’ sense of social responsibility, but it also had a positiveinfluence on their academic success (Scales et al., 2000). Through the integration ofthese four factors, the diverse pedagogy of the multiliteracies approach would bevital in helping educators develop a comprehensive moral education programme thatwould enhance the emotional literacy of students.

However, while the present study has shown evidence for the influence ofemotional literacy on problem behaviours, there are also a number of limitations inthe findings that indicate directions for future investigations. First, the current studyfocused only on the adolescents’ self-reports of emotional intelligence, externalisingbehaviours, internalising behaviours and parental monitoring. In any interpretationof these results, it is imperative to be aware that the adolescents’ perceptions of theirbehaviours, as well as their parents’ behaviours are being utilised. Studies haveshown that adolescents’ self-reports of problem behaviours is highly correlated withreports completed by other informants, such as parents and teachers (Achenbach,1991). Nevertheless, following the recommendation of various researchers, in futurestudies, there is a need to incorporate the reports of parents and teachers, in orderto obtain a more complete picture of adolescents’ functioning (Achenbach, 1991).

Secondly, bidirectionality of effects needs to be considered in any correlationaland cross-sectional research. The implication of the present study is that a low levelof emotional intelligence leads to the development of problem behaviours. It ispossible that the converse is true, and that the development of problem behavioursleads to an outcome of low emotional intelligence. With correlational and cross-sec-tional data, such directionality cannot be ascertained. Longitudinal studies would beuseful in investigating the causal paths between emotional intelligence and problembehaviours.

Thirdly, the present study focused primarily on adolescents at the secondarylevel. Future studies should examine children, especially at the elementary schoollevel. Research on the development of emotional literacy suggests that childrenacquire many strategies for emotional regulation during childhood and, in fact, thesestrategies appear to be in place by approximately age 10 (Brenner & Salovey, 1997).

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Hence, investigating the emotional changes that occur in childhood may help toguide research on developing civics and moral education for elementary schoolchildren.

Conclusion

There is a need to develop programmes to address the rise of emotional illiteracyamong youth in the Asia-Pacific region. Programmes that are implemented inschools should be based on sound theoretical and empirical evidence. In Malaysia,there has been an emphasis on developing a value-based curriculum for a formalsubject in primary and secondary schools. Students are even tested on their knowl-edge of values like respect and co-operation that are important for developing acaring Malaysian society. As Haris (1997) observes, Malaysian education is contentand examination centred. The highly standardised examination system moulds thepedagogy of the classroom. This system focuses strongly on the cognitive, ratherthan the affective domain. However, in order to provide a more balanced educationand to capture the spirit of the Malaysian philosophy of education to producecitizens with high moral standards, there may be a need to complement the formalmoral education curriculum with a multi-faceted approach.

The present study provided evidence for the importance of incorporating theconcept of emotional literacy, based on a pedagogy of multiliteracies, into civics andmoral education programs. Educators should realise that emotions are an integralpart of the development of moral character, and address not only the cognitivedevelopment, but also the emotional development of children. As Dewey states:

We can imagine a person with most excellent judgment, who yet does notact upon his judgment. There must not only be force to ensure the effortin execution against obstacles, but there must also be a delicate personalresponsiveness,—there must be an emotional reactior … Just as the ma-terial of knowledge is supplied through the senses, so the material of ethicalknowledge is supplied by emotional responsiveness (1909, p. 52).

Correspondence: Dr Albert K. Liau, Psychological Studies, National Institute ofEducation, 1 Nanyang Walk, Singapore 637616, E-mail: kfaliau@nie.edu.sg

NOTE

[1] The 17 noble values are: (1) Kindness; (2) Self-reliance; (3) High principles; (4) Respect; (5) Love;(6) Justice; (7) Independence; (8) Courageousness; (9) Physical and mental cleanliness; (10)Honesty; (11) Industriousness; (12) Cooperation; (13) Moderation; (14) Thankfulness; (15)Rationality; (16) Socialization; (17) Citizenship.

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