Emotional intelligence in navigating rural school leadership challenges

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Rural schools in South Africa continue to face socio-economic, infrastructural, and organisational challenges that negatively affect teaching and learning and school leadership. This study explores the role of emotional intelligence (EI) in helping School Management Teams (SMTs) address these issues in under-resourced rural schools within the Mbombela Municipality, Mpumalanga Province, South Africa. Using Goleman's Competency Framework, the study investigates how emotionally intelligent leadership might improve teacher well-being, organisational effectiveness, and school development in difficult rural settings. Adopting a qualitative case study approach with ten SMT members from five rural primary schools, data were gathered through semi-structured interviews and document analysis, then thematically analysed. The results suggest that emotionally intelligent leadership can build trust, teamwork, empathy, and relational support within schools, particularly in environments characterised by poverty, role overload, insufficient infrastructure, and limited parental involvement. SMTs identified self-awareness, emotional regulation, empathy, and interpersonal skills as vital for managing staff morale, conflict, and stress. The study also shows that emotionally intelligent leadership may strengthen teacher resilience and foster a shared sense of purpose despite systemic pressures. However, the findings acknowledge that EI alone cannot fully resolve ongoing resource shortages, excessive workloads, or structural inequalities affecting rural schools. The study concludes that emotionally intelligent leadership practices are essential for sustaining teacher well-being and organisational stability, although wider institutional and policy measures are also needed. This research contributes to educational leadership scholarship by providing a contextually grounded understanding of EI in rural school management and highlighting the importance of leadership development programmes that focus on emotional intelligence, teacher well-being, and context-sensitive leadership strategies in rural South African schools.

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