A Sociological Perspective: Enhancing the Well-Being of Adult Learners Through Emotional Intelligence
As a sociologist, I view education not merely as a personal pursuit, but as a deeply social process shaped by power, identity, and systemic inequality. Adult learners—those re-entering education later in life—are navigating a complex intersection of societal roles, responsibilities, and emotional demands. Their well-being cannot be separated from the social contexts they inhabit.
One tool that has gained increasing relevance in supporting adult learners is emotional intelligence (EI). While often discussed in psychological terms, EI also has profound sociological implications. It affects how individuals relate to social institutions, manage identity tensions, and negotiate structural challenges. In this article, I explore how emotional intelligence can be leveraged to improve the well-being of adult learners—through a sociological lens.
Understanding Adult Learners as Social Actors
Adult learners do not arrive in educational settings as blank slates. They carry the weight of previous social experiences—some empowering, many marginalizing. They are parents, workers, immigrants, caregivers, veterans. They may have been failed by earlier educational systems or internalized the idea that they “aren’t academic material.”
From a sociological standpoint, emotional intelligence helps adult learners navigate the emotional labor of shifting roles and identities. It supports:
• Reframing self-concepts formed by past social labeling (e.g., “dropout,” “nontraditional student”)
• Managing the emotional dissonance between their professional or family identities and their student role
• Building resilience in the face of systemic barriers (e.g., racism, class inequality, ageism)
Emotional Intelligence as Social Competence
Sociologists like Arlie Hochschild and Daniel Goleman have emphasized that emotions are socially conditioned. Emotional intelligence is not just about managing one’s inner life—it’s about adapting to social expectations and reading the emotional norms of institutions.
Key EI Dimensions in Sociological Context:
• Self-awareness helps learners identify how structural forces (such as race, gender, and class) shape their emotional responses to educational spaces.
• Self-regulation empowers them to cope with shame, fear, or frustration that may stem from experiences of exclusion.
• Empathy enables solidarity with peers from diverse backgrounds, supporting a sense of belonging.
• Social skills are crucial for engaging with instructors, navigating bureaucracy, and asserting one’s needs in often rigid systems.
These skills are not innate; they are shaped by one’s social environment and opportunities for development.
Challenging the “Deficit” Narrative
Too often, adult learners are seen through a deficit lens: lacking confidence, digital literacy, or academic preparation. Emotional intelligence reframes this. Instead of viewing emotional expression as weakness or distraction, we recognize it as cultural and experiential knowledge.
Sociologically, we must ask: Whose emotional expression is legitimized in classrooms? Adult learners who come from marginalized communities may express resilience, anger, or vulnerability in ways that differ from institutional norms. Rather than pathologizing these differences, we must value them as valid responses to inequity.
Building Emotionally Intelligent Learning Spaces
To support adult learners, educators and institutions must go beyond surface-level empathy. They must embed emotional intelligence into policies, practices, and pedagogy. This includes:
• Culturally responsive teaching that affirms identity and experience
• Community-building activities that reduce isolation
• Mentorship programs rooted in relational trust
• Flexible structures that accommodate adult responsibilities without penalizing them
These aren’t simply accommodations—they are justice-oriented reforms.
Emotional Intelligence as Empowerment
Developing emotional intelligence enables adult learners to reclaim agency in systems that have often marginalized them. It supports their transition from passive recipients of knowledge to active participants in shaping their learning journey—and, by extension, their communities.
From a sociological perspective, this is a form of emotional resistance: reclaiming space, voice, and power in systems that often undervalue non-traditional learners.
Conclusion: Toward Emotional Justice in Adult Education
If we aim to improve the well-being of adult learners, we must do more than build skills—we must rebuild systems. Emotional intelligence is not a luxury. It is a necessity in the fight for dignity, belonging, and equity in education.
As sociologists, educators, and advocates, we must treat emotional intelligence not as a private trait, but as a public good—something to be nurtured, valued, and embedded in every level of adult learning.
Source
• Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional Intelligence: Why It Can Matter More Than IQ. New York: Bantam Books.
• Hochschild, A. R. (1983). The Managed Heart: Commercialization of Human Feeling. University of California Press.
• hooks, bell. (1994). Teaching to Transgress: Education as the Practice of Freedom. Routledge.
• Illeris, K. (2004). The Three Dimensions of Learning: Contemporary Learning Theory in the Tension Field between the Cognitive, the Emotional and the Social. Roskilde University Press.
• Mezirow, J. (2000). Learning as Transformation: Critical Perspectives on a Theory in Progress. Jossey-Bass.
• Reay, D. (2018). Miseducation: Inequality, Education and the Working Classes. Policy Press.
• Tett, L., & Maclachlan, K. (2007). Adult literacy and numeracy, social capital, learner identities and self‐confidence. Studies in the Education of Adults, 39(2), 150–167.
• Zembylas, M. (2007). Emotional capital and education: Theoretical insights from Bourdieu. British Journal of Educational Studies, 55(4), 443–463.
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