Differences between children's self-reports and teacher ratings of emotional intelligence and anxiety: A cross-informant study

Abstract

Teachers play a crucial role in supporting children's socio-emotional development, yet their evaluations of emotional functioning may be influenced by academic achievement and classroom behavior. This study examined cross-informant differences between children's self-reported trait Emotional Intelligence (trait EI) and scholastic anxiety, and teacher ratings of the same constructs, while also considering the role of academic grades. Participants were 197 primary school children (aged 8–11) and their teachers, who completed parallel forms of the Trait Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire and the Anxiety Scale Questionnaire for Children. Overall, agreement between informants was low. Teachers consistently rated children's trait EI higher than children rated themselves; moreover, teacher-rated trait EI tended to be higher among students with stronger academic results and those judged as well-behaved by their teachers, whereas children's self-reported trait EI was only related to academic grades. Thus, the association between trait EI and behavior was evident only for teacher ratings. In contrast, children reported more scholastic anxiety than teachers did. The child–teacher discrepancy in anxiety was especially pronounced among students judged as well-behaved, whereas academic grades (Italian, Math) did not reliably amplify or reduce this gap. These findings suggest that teachers may conflate visible classroom behavior with socio-emotional competence and may fail to detect internalized distress, particularly in wellbehaved pupils. Integrating teacher ratings with children's self-reports can provide a more accurate picture of students' emotional well-being and inform early, school-based supports.