2015-09-29 SPAIN

Marists are helping youths have greater emotional intelligence

A teacher of a Marist school in Badajoz involved in a programme for helping children increase their emotional intelligence strongly believes it is helping the youth.

“We’re convinced we can help the youth obtain more vocational maturity working with them and accompanying this process with important experiences that make the student feel like they are the protagonists of their history,” said Dr José Antonio Rosa (on the far right in the picturre), who recently presented his doctoral thesis on the issue at the University of Extremadura in Cáceres, obtaining the highest mark.

“Beside this, it is very important that they are able to do this job in coordination with tutors, and with pastoral and guidance teams,” he told the general house press office on Sept. 21.

The programme, which is now being used in Marist schools of the Province Mediterránea, in Spain, is called ‘Vocational Tutorial Action Plan’.

José Antonio, who teaches middle and high school in Nuestra Señora del Carmen, used the programme for his doctoral thesis which he recently presented. He had the support of the provincial team of vocational animation of which José Antonio belongs to. 

The thesis meant to show the importance of guiding students – from kindergarden up to high school – on eight topics including self-concept, self-esteem, decision-making, education and emotional intelligence, interiority, group project, personal life project and testimonies.

Titled ‘Vocational Maturity and Emotional Intelligence. Influence and effectiveness of the programme’s implementation: Vocational Tutorial Action Plan (PAT-V),’ it explains the work currently being done in 17 educational Marist institutions in south and east of Spain. 

The thesis showed the results of 38 secondary schools, seven charter schools and one private school.

Dr José Antonio underscored “this research highlights the excellent tutoring work the group of tutors are doing in our Marist Mediterránea province through our ‘vocational tutorial action plan’ programme.”

“We will continue to improve this work with more and better training for them and we are convinced that it is the only way we can improve the results,” he added. “And we understand this is charismatic.” 

According to him, this “brings us closer to Champagnat, who studied the best way to take care of (children and youth), and help the youth that the Lord would put in his hands grow as people and as Christians.”

“We will continue to work for this,” he affirmed. 

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