Academic staff emotional intelligence questionnaire (ASEIQ): development, validation, and bifactor modelling in Nigerian universities

<jats:p>&lt;p&gt;&lt;strong&gt;Context and relevance&lt;/strong&gt;. Emotional intelligence (EI) is widely recognized as crucial in educational settings, but instruments specifically measuring EI among higher education instructors, particularly university lecturers, remain scarce. Therefore, developing a context-specific questionnaire for this population is imperative. &lt;strong&gt;Objective&lt;/strong&gt;. To develop and validate the Academic Staff Emotional Intelligence Questionnaire (ASEIQ) for Nigerian university lecturers. &lt;strong&gt;Methods&lt;/strong&gt;. A sample of 3122 lecturers from two Nigerian universities participated. The data were analysed via exploratory factor analysis (EFA; &lt;em&gt;n&lt;/em&gt; = 262), confirmatory factor analysis (CFA; &lt;em&gt;n&lt;/em&gt; = 1300), and bifactor modelling (&lt;em&gt;n&lt;/em&gt; = 1560). Reliability was assessed via Cronbach&amp;rsquo;s alpha, McDonald&amp;rsquo;s omega, and split-half reliability with Spearman&amp;ndash;Brown correction. &lt;strong&gt;Results&lt;/strong&gt;. EFA identified five factors that cumulatively explained 74,12% of the variance. CFA confirmed a bifactor model as the one with the best fit, demonstrating strong reliability (&amp;alpha; = 0,85&amp;ndash;0,99) and validity (AVE &amp;gt; 0,50). &lt;strong&gt;Conclusions&lt;/strong&gt;. The ASEIQ is a valid, reliable tool for assessing EI among Nigerian university lecturers, filling a critical gap in context-specific EI measurement.&lt;/p&gt;</jats:p>