CHAPTER ONE
INTRODUCTION
Background to the Study
One of the important components to live in the community is the ability to manage the emotions. Emotional Quotation (EQ) includes the ability to express feelings, awareness and understanding of emotions and the ability to regulate and control it. Salovey and Mayer in Awangga (2008), defined Emotional Intelligence (assertiveness and emotional awareness) or EQ as the ability to know own feelings and the feelings of others, and use those feelings, requires thought and behavior. Education is an invaluable asset because it is the basis for the individual and society. A factor that can support the success of senior secondary school education accounting is emotional intelligence (assertiveness and self awareness).
Accounting knowledge is instrumental to hold and run the company’s operations because the accounting provides financial information to support the decision making process. The role and function of accounting in the world of education is to provide quantitative information, especially about finance, that is useful in making economic decisions for entities. It can be imagined when an accountant in a company does not have the integrity and high emotional intelligence. The operational activities of the company will not be able to run smoothly and the company will not be able to develop because the accountant may not be able to present the correct company’s financial statements. Based on the above descriptions, it can be concluded that emotional intelligence has an important role for accounting students career and the career of an accountant. Nevertheless, formal education in Nigeria, Ondo State in particular ranging from elementary schools, junior high schools, and high school, still has not taught the emotional intelligence that may result in students good attitudes such as integrity, commitment, as well as visionary that needed by the young generation.
Formal education is still seeing a student from learning outcomes or scores gained on learning process in class as evidenced by the ranking in school, and their IQ scores. It can be concluded that the formal education assess students is clever based on the numerical facts. It is regardless of how they control themselves, self-knowledge, motivation, empathetic attitude toward others, and social skills to interact with others. Sundem (1993) in Rachmi (2010) worried about the lack of clarity on the accounting industry generated by secondary school accounting system; this is because many secondary schools are not able to make their students good in the knowledge and life skills. Students are familiar with the memorization learning but they do not understand the lesson. This make the students tend to easily forget what they’ve learned or difficult to understand what will be taught next. Daniel Goleman in Martin (2003) mentioned that intellectual intelligence contributed only 20 percent to the success of someone’s life. The rest, 80 percent relies on the emotional intelligence.
However, it cannot be said that the value in the form number is not more important than emotional intelligence. This value is used to measure the extent to which a student is disciplined and conscientious in following formal learning. Because, formal education is also important to provides a broader knowledge for students in accordance with their field. A student should not only gain knowledge through formal education. If student seeks knowledge outside the classroom, then they will occupy one level above the student who only seek knowledge in the classroom. McClelland (1973) in Agustian (2001) stated that a set of specific skills such as empathy, self-discipline, and initiative may determine those who are successful in jobs. Academic achievements may predicate not be the only indicator of a person’s performance on the job or the success can be achieved. There are many examples that show the academic success resulting in the success at work. Often, a low formal education achievers are more successful at work because they have high emotional intelligence.
Based on components of emotional intelligence, Yuniani (2010) conducted a study to determine which of the components of emotional intelligence that affects to the level of understanding in accounting. The results showed that self-awareness, self-regulation and motivation affect the level of understanding of accounting students. While, empathy and social skills are not affect to the level on understanding of accounting. However, there are some studies that show emotional intelligence cannot predict academic achievement. This is evidenced by a study conducted by Dewanto and Nurhayati (2012) which shows that emotional intelligence and spiritual intelligence do not affect the attitude of ethical and accounting student achievement. Ardana (2013) also showed that only the Intellectual Intelligence can significantly predict accounting students’ academic performance.
While, the other independent variables such as emotional intelligence, spiritual intelligence, and physical intelligence failed to predict the Academic Achievement of accounting students. Thus, a study conducted by Barchard (2003) explained that Emotional Intelligence is not a primary factor that determines academic success. Emotional Intelligence is associated with academic success, but its role is not greater than verbal skills. Cognitive ability and personality characteristics take more important role in predicting academic success. Although each of these researchers have different dependent variable, but the elements is academic dimension that can reflect achievements as it will also be examined in this research work. But, despite having some similarities with the study plan, this research chooses achievement based on grade point average, of accounting students.
This research work develops the study of Prasetyo (2013), who explored whether there is a relationship between emotional intelligence and the achievement of an accounting student from selected secondary schools in Iwaro Oka community in Oka Akoko Ondo State. The motivation of the research work is to deeply examine the components of emotional intelligence that will affect significantly on academic results on accounting students, and to determine whether there are differences in the results of studies that have been conducted previously and this recent research. This research uses different population and there are additional variables from previous studies. In the previous study, independent variables used are emotional intelligence and learning behavior, while this research uses emotional intelligence as an independent variable that will be categorized into five criteria based on Goleman (2005) covering Self-Awareness, Self-Regulation, Motivation, Empathy, and Social skill.
Statement of the Problem
Formal education in Nigeria, Ondo State in particular ranging from elementary schools, junior high schools, and high school, still has not taught the emotional intelligence that may result in students good attitudes such as integrity, commitment, as well as visionary that needed by the young generation. Formal education is still seeing a student from learning outcomes or scores gained on learning process in class as evidenced by the ranking in school, and their IQ scores. It is regardless of how they control themselves, self-knowledge, motivation, empathetic attitude toward others, and social skills to interact with others. Lack of clarity on the accounting industry generated by secondary school accounting system; this is because many secondary schools are not able to make their students good in the knowledge and life skills. Students are familiar with the memorization learning but they do not understand the lesson. This make the students tend to easily forget what they’ve learned or difficult to understand what will be taught next.