Preliminary evidence of efficacy of the Ethics of Human Relations approach on teachers’ emotional competence

As part of the flourishing line of research into teachers’ emotions, we report the preliminary evidences of efficacy of a pilot Italian intervention program conducted following the Ethics of Human Relations (ERH) approach. The theoretical background of the ERH approach is the attempt to integrate the construct of False and True Self with cognitive neurosciences. The goal of its methodology is to train to a practice that helps the self-generation of internal states of consciousness which is the basis of happiness and universal human values. The study was conducted with the participation of 49 teachers (mean age of 51.94 years, SD 9.87). The training group (N = 29) was exposed to ERH program; the control group (N = 20) did not take part in the program. Teachers from both groups were individually tested pre- and post-training on measures of Authenticity and Regulatory Emotional Self-Efficacy. The training was found to have a significant effect on the Authentic living and Perceived-selfefficacy in expressing positive affect: they decreased in the control group whilst they remained stable in the training group. The need to further assess the ERH method is stressed.