Investigating the coping strategies utilised by secondary school managers to manage significant negative emotions through emotional intelligence – A Case Study of Secondary School Managers in Lejweleputswa District

Amanda Naidoo ORCID iD, Mlungisi Patrick Nohako ORCID iD & Matsolo Mokhampanyane ORCID iD 

Issue: Vol. 7 No. 3 2026 Article 7 pp.299 – 310
DOI : https://doi.org/10.38159/jelt.2026737 Published online 23rd April 2026.

© 2026 The Author(s). This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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This empirical paper examined the significant negative emotions experienced by secondary school managers and the application of emotional intelligence in this context. This paper explored the emotional experiences of secondary school managers as they navigate complex feelings and emotions. The school environment is a highly emotional and stressful setting. Managers must manage their emotions when addressing challenging teachers and coordinating various activities within a limited timeframe. The paper is grounded in critical emancipatory research theory, which advocates for social justice, equality, freedom, and labour peace. This paper is qualitative. Ten participants from two schools in the Lejweleputswa Education District in the Free State, South Africa, including five school managers, four teachers, and one senior subject specialist, were interviewed face-to-face. The face-to-face interview method was employed to explore the significant feelings experienced by secondary school managers when dealing with daily stress and to understand how they manage these emotions. The study found that school managers lack knowledge of emotional regulation, which frustrates them in their daily work, and they are not emotionally intelligent. The sample size consisted of only two schools within the educational district, and the generalisability of the results was limited. The study’s results and findings might have considerably varied with an increased sample size. The study suggests that managers and leaders must be trained to regulate negative emotions and that training programmes must be implemented to improve the social skill of self-regulation. This paper adds to existing literature on enhancing emotional intelligence among school managers in South African secondary schools.

Keywords: Emotional Intelligence, Critical Emancipatory Research, School Managers, Negative Emotions, Self-Regulation.

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Dr Amanda Naidoo holds a Doctor of Laws (LLD) with specialisation in Constitutional Law and Philosophy of Law. She is a lecturer in the Department of Government Management, Faculty of Management Sciences at the Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa.

Mlungisi Patrick Nohako is a departmental head of commerce at Marematlou Secondary School, and an experienced Business Studies teacher, who has been a senior marker since from 2015. I hold the following qualifications: BA Degree, Major in Economics and Education from VISTA University,  HDE Major in Business Management and Commerce from VISTA University, HONS Degree Majoring in Law and Systems from NWU, and Masters Degree from CUT Welkom campus. My passion is in education psychology and entrepreneurial development.

Prof Matsolo Mokhampanyane holds a Doctor of Education (D.Ed) specialising in Accounting Education and Economic and Management Sciences. She is an Associate Professor in the Department of Language and Social Science Education, Faculty of Humanities at the Central University of Technology, Free State, South Africa. Her research focus is on accounting education, pedagogical content knowledge, and content knowledge.

Naidoo, Amanda, Mlungisi Patrick Nohako, and Matsolo Mokhampanyane. “Investigating the coping strategies utilised by secondary school managers to manage significant negative emotions through emotional intelligence – A Case Study of  Secondary School Managers in Lejweleputswa District.” Journal of Education and Learning Technology 7, no.3 (2026): 299 -310. https://doi.org/10.38159/jelt.2026737

© 2026 The Author(s). Published and Maintained by Noyam Journals. This is an open access article under the CCBY license (http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/).

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