Emotional Intelligence (Ei) As A Mediator of The Relationship Between Religiosity Practice and The Competency of Islamic Education Teachers (Iets)

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the influence of Religiosity Practice and the level of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) on the competency of Islamic Education Teachers (GPIs) in Peninsular Malaysia while testing the role of Emotional Intelligence (EQ) as a mediation variable in the relationship between Religiosity Practice and Competency. The study design was quantitative. The data was collected using a questionnaire implemented on 470 respondents consisting of Islamic Education Teachers in the primary schools in Peninsular Malaysia. The data was obtained through a questionnaire adapted from the instruments of Religiosity by al-Maududi’s (1985) and Azma (2006), Emotional Intelligence (EQ) by Goleman (1995), Noriah (2004) and Competency (SGM, 2009). The quantitative study data were analyzed using AMOS-SEM version 21. The findings of the modeling analysis through the Structural Equation Modeling (SEM) showed that Religiosity Practice was found to have a direct impact on Competency (β = 0.621, p value <0.05), Emotional Intelligence (EQ) was also found to have a direct effect on Competency (β = 0.500, p value <0.05) and Religiosity Practice was also found to have a direct effect on emotional intelligence (β = 0.596, p value <0.05). The research hypothesis also showed that Emotional Intelligence (EQ) was a partial mediator in the relationship between Religiosity Practice and Competency because the regression coefficient β1 (Religiosity Practice and Competency) was significant, whereas two other hypotheses, which tested the regression coefficient β3 (Religiosity Practice and Emotional Intelligence) and β2 (Emotional Intelligence against Competency) were also significant. The mediating effect measurement for the mediator on the model, that was the relationship between Religiosity Practice and Competency was shown by the r² value of 0.51, with a large range and highly significant to the study. On the whole, this study provided an alternative answer on how a well-managed Emotional Intelligence (EQ) of GPIs, according to an Islamic perspective, was able to improve competency.