Development of Emotional Skills through Interdisciplinary Practices Integrated into a University Curriculum

Abstract

The emotional profile of university students has been related to both academic performance and professional success. Such evidence has led higher education professionals to ask whether students can be trained in emotional skills at university stage. However, learning specific emotional skills requires a considerable investment of time from students. This paper presents an intervention aimed at developing emotional skills through interdisciplinary teamwork, without adding specific courses that could decrease the time that students devote to their core studies. The results indicated that working in interdisciplinary teams improved the level of emotional skills without hindering the attainment of academic objectives.