The problem addressed is that special education teachers lack the professional development and awareness of EI to assist in learning outcomes for students receiving special education services. A qualitative narrative inquiry was completed to collect teachers' stories and perceptions. Research questions focused on teacher perceptions, experiences, drawbacks encountered, and the impact of professional development on EI. Theory of EI was the conceptual framework for this research, as explained by Salovey, Mayer, and Goleman. Purposeful sampling was used to identify four high school self-contained teachers who participated in semi-structured individual interviews. Results of thematic analysis emerged eight significant themes: (a) strengthening teacher EI directly increases EI of students, (b) supporting EI in the classroom creates better learning environments, (c) increasing awareness of EI amongst all stakeholders is needed, (d) supporting EI in the classroom will diminish student challenges and promote student growth, (e) students may either reject or take advantage of EI support, (f) colleagues and leadership do not widely understand EI, (g) minimal current support, teacher desire to raise awareness of EI, and (h) professional development provided in the area of EI should be consistent, modeled, and prioritized. Implications and recommendations for practice included: (a) teachers must demonstrate EI competency before supporting students, (b) utilize EI based instruction as an intervention for behavior challenges, (c) an administrator should oversee EI implementation at the campus, and (d) to have on-going EI professional development available for teachers. Recommendations for future research included: (a) conduct a narrative inquiry on the perceptions of EI of all teachers at a campus, (b) include quantitative data point to determine the level of EI a teacher currently has, and (c) conduct a comparative study between two campuses one that receives EI support versus one that does not receive the support. [The dissertation citations contained here are published with the permission of ProQuest LLC. Further reproduction is prohibited without permission. Copies of dissertations may be obtained by Telephone (800) 1-800-521-0600. Web page: http://bibliotheek.ehb.be:2222/en-US/products/dissertations/individuals.shtml.]