Congratulations to the new PhD  Simas Garbenis for successfully defending his doctoral dissertation “Emotional Intelligence Development(s) in Physical Education Classes for Primary School Students with Severe Special Educational Needs” (Education Sciences, S007 ) and aquieing  the degree of Doctor of Social Sciences in the field of Education Scence. Scientific supervisor – assoc. prof. dr. Renata Geležinienė (Vilnius University, Social Sciences, Education – S 007). Scientific advisor – assoc. prof. dr. Ieva Kuginytė-Arlauskienė (Vilnius University, University of Applied Sciences of Western Norway, Stord, Social Sciences, Education – S 007).

The dissertation is available at:
Vilnius University, Kaunas University of Technology, Lithuanian University of Sport and the VU website at: www.vu.lt/lt/naujienos/ivykiu-kalendorius

The dissertation can be consulted at:

https://is.vu.lt/pls/pub/ivykiai.ivykiai_prd?p_name=89722E9D6C0B6EBA7A7909CE6741C932/GA…

A short annotation is presented below. 

The thesis shows how physical education lessons can develop emotional intelligence traits in primary school pupils with severe special educational needs. The thesis provides an overview of the contemporary approach to emotional intelligence, revealing its theoretical assumptions, relevance and role in everyday life, justifying its developmental potential in relation to the specificities of physical education lessons. In order to identify and analyse the prerequisites for the development of emotional intelligence traits in physical education lessons of primary school pupils with severe special educational needs, a qualitative micro-ethnographic study was carried out using the methods of episodic analysis and reflexive thematic analysis. Analysing the data from a teacher-researcher perspective, it was found that the emotional intelligence traits of pupils with severe special educational needs are developed in physical education lessons during active social interactions. The content of these interactions consists of situational-action-reaction chains, which are different for each emotional intelligence trait. The study reveals that the different situations allow the teacher or classmates to apply the relevant traits revealed in the work, developing methods and tools, also known as actions. These actions describe what was done, how, when and why, and what trait of emotional intelligence was developed. The findings of the study suggest that the process of developing emotional intelligence traits in primary school pupils with severe special educational needs can be effective in physical education lessons, without changing the objectives and focus of the lesson, but through the targeted application of the methods and tools and the creation of the necessary conditions revealed in the study during the interactions with the students.

Dissertation Defense Board:

Chairperson – assoc. prof. dr. Irena Kaffemanienė (Vilnius University, Social Sciences, Education – S 007),
Assoc. prof. dr. Violeta Gevorgianienė (Vilnius University, Social Sciences, Education – S 007),
Prof. dr Irina Klizienė (Kaunas University of Technology, Social Sciences, Education – S 007),
Prof. dr. Philip Nordness (University of Nebraska at Omaha, USA, Social Sciences, Education – S 007),
Prof. dr. Diana Rėklaitienė (Lithuanian University of Sport, Social Sciences, Education – S 007).