Content Analysis of Emotional Intelligence Components in Farsi Textbook Stories using Shannon’s Entropy Approach

Purpose: The present research aimed to provide content analysis of emotional intelligence dimensions in Farsi textbook stories of elementary schools using Shannon’s entropy approach. Methodology: The research method was descriptive ad had a content analysis type using Shannon’s entropy method. The statistical population consisted of 108 stories in Farsi textbooks of the elementary school in 2022. The statistical sample was also equal to the statistical population according to the census approach. The research tool included the emotional intelligence checklist with five components (interpersonal skills, intrapersonal skills, adaptability, general mood, and stress management) based on the Bar-On model. The reliability of the data was desirable using the paired t-test. Findings: The research findings indicated that there were significant differences in the representation of dimensions of emotional intelligence in stories of Farsi textbooks. Therefore, topics of intrapersonal and interpersonal skills were taken into consideration in a relatively favorable way, but stress management skill was neglected in the textbooks. Furthermore, a comparison of the sixth-grade elementary schools indicated that most of their stories had a general pattern of the importance of interpersonal and intrapersonal skill dimensions, and the adaptability dimension was relatively favorable only in the fifth-grade of elementary schools. Conclusion: According to the role of emotional intelligence in learners’ lives, authors of Farsi textbooks need to provide a necessary revision of emotional intelligence components in the stories of the textbooks.