New ECU research suggests emotional literacy may be one of the most important skills students can learn.
New Edith Cowan University (ECU) research suggests emotional literacy may be one of the most important skills students can learn, not just for relationships, but for their education and future careers.
A new study by Dr Madalena Grobbelaar and Dr Elizabeth Reid Boyd explores how Heart Skills, including empathy, compassion, assertiveness and self-awareness, are being embedded into university teaching.
The research draws on the authors' work as co-founders of #Love@ECU, a research initiative established in 2021 to explore Love Literacy as an emerging academic field focused on cultivating an authentic love of self as the foundation for caring for others and the wider community.
Currently taught in ECU's Interpersonal and Helping Skills unit, Heart Skills are developed through reflective and creative writing practices, including exercises such as writing "love letters to the dear heart", designed to foster emotional insight, resilience and self-compassion.
"Our research is about something deeper than romantic love," Dr Grobbelaar said.
"Emotional literacy shapes how students learn, relate to others and enter professions that rely on care, communication and ethical decision-making."
The unit brings together students from social science, human and community services, and counselling degrees, allowing them to apply the same Heart Skills in discipline-specific ways, from community development and social justice to therapeutic relationships and one-to-one practice.
Dr Reid-Boyd said embedding emotional learning into the curriculum was increasingly important as universities respond to student wellbeing challenges, curriculum transformation and the growing presence of AI in education.
"We argue that emotional literacy shouldn't be treated as an optional extra," she said.
"It needs to sit at the heart of how we teach interpersonal and professional skills."
The paper lays the foundation for future research and the development of a Heart Skills toolkit that could be adapted across disciplines, offering a model for heart-led learning in higher education.
The paper 'Love letters to the self: building heart skills through positive autoethnography' is published in the journal International Review of Psychiatry.
