Perceptions of higher education students about the consequences of their academic emotions

Abstract

Higher education students in learning situations are constantly being assaulted with academic emotions. The most part of times, these students are not aware of what they feel while studying or even how much these emotions can affect themselves or their learning process [1]. Thus, academic emotions are important due to the impact they can have on students in learning situations [2]. This work aims to know the perception of higher education students about their academic emotions and the consequences of those for students. Qualitative methodology was privileged. 48 Portuguese voluntary higher education students from an interior Portuguese university were interviewed (50% women). Ages varied between 18 and 27 years old. NVivo was used to organize the information.Thematic content analysis was used to analyse data [3] Results showed two different positions: students who considered that what they feel while studying did not affect them and other students who assumed this effect. For these latter subjects, their academic emotions affected them positively and negatively, regarding to cognition; affective aspects; emotional regulation needs, motivational aspects; aspects related with study and learning; academic performance; interpersonal relationships and at the level of their personal changing. These results contribute to the existing knowledge about academic emotions of higher education students and can be important to the development of structural measures in universities. Also, students and teachers can benefit using these data on their practical academic daily life.