Control-value appraisals,achievement emotions,and foreign language performance: A latent interaction analysis

Based on control-value theory (CVT), this study (N = 550 Chinese university students) examined relations between control-value appraisals, subsequent achievement emotions, and resulting performance in foreign language (FL) learning. The results show that perceived control and value related positively to positive emotions (enjoyment, hope, pride) and FL performance, and negatively to negative emotions (anger, anxiety, shame, hopelessness, boredom). Control and value interacted in predicting all eight emotions and FL performance. The multiplicative impact of the appraisals on performance was mediated by four of the focal emotions. These findings elucidate the impact of appraisals and emotions on achievement and support the generalizability of CVT to foreign language learning. Directions for future research and implications for education are discussed.     

Beyond cold technology: A systematic review and meta-analysis on emotions in technology-based learning environments

Understanding emotions in technology-based learning environments (TBLEs) has become a paramount goal across different research communities, but to date, these have operated in relative isolation. Based on control-value theory (Pekrun, 2006), we reviewed 186 studies examining emotions in TBLEs that were published between 1965 and 2018. We extracted effect sizes quantifying relations between emotions (enjoyment, curiosity/interest, anxiety, anger/frustration, confusion, boredom) and their antecedents (control-value appraisals, prior knowledge, gender, TBLE characteristics) and outcomes (engagement, learning strategies, achievement). Mean effects largely supported hypotheses (e.g., positive relations between enjoyment and appraisals, achievement, and cognitive support) and remained relatively stable across moderators. These findings imply that levels of emotions differ across TBLEs, but that their functional relations with appraisals and learning are equivalent across environments. Implications for research and designing emotionally sound TBLEs are discussed.     

The Impact of Emotions on Student Achievement in Synchronous Hybrid Business and Public Administration Programs: A Longitudinal Test of Control‐Value Theory*

Synchronous hybrid delivery (simultaneously teaching on‐campus and online students using Web conferencing) is becoming more common in higher education. However, little is known about students’ emotions in these environments. Although often overlooked, emotions are fundamental antecedents of success. This study longitudinally examined the role of students’ emotions (enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom), perceptions of control, value, and success in synchronous hybrid learning environments. In particular, the investigation assessed students’ self‐reported enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom as predictors of their program achievement and successful technology use. Students were recruited from synchronous hybrid MBA and MPA programs. Control‐value theory of emotions was used as the theoretical framework. Paired samples t‐tests revealed that the achievement domain, compared to the technology domain, yielded higher mean scores for control, value, enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom. In addition, mixed ANOVAs indicated an interaction effect in which group means for program boredom were significantly higher for on‐campus students than for online students. Intercorrelations in each domain showed that perceived success was positively related to enjoyment and negatively related to anxiety and boredom. Technology‐related anxiety was also found to fully mediate the positive effect of control on perceived success in using technology.     

The roles of teacher–student relationship quality and self-concept of ability in adolescents’ achievement emotions: temperament as a moderator

This study examined to what extent teacher–student conflict and closeness, on the one hand, and students’ self-concepts of ability in literacy and mathematics, on the other, are related to students’ achievement emotions (enjoyment, anxiety and boredom) in mathematics and literacy among Finnish early adolescents (N = 854). We also investigated the extent to which these associations are moderated by student temperament (surgency/extraversion, negative affectivity and effortful control). The results showed, after accounting for relevant covariates, that in both school subjects, teacher–student conflict was negatively related to enjoyment and positively to anxiety and boredom, whereas teacher–student closeness was positively related to enjoyment and negatively to boredom. Self-concepts of ability in both school subjects were positively related to enjoyment and negatively to anxiety, whereas the self-concept of ability was only negatively related to boredom in mathematics. Student temperament also moderated some of the associations in the literacy domain. Lower levels of conflict in the teacher–student relationship were related to higher levels of enjoyment in literacy, particularly among students who had lower levels of surgency/extraversion. Also, a closer relationship with the teacher or a lower self-concept of ability in literacy was related to higher levels of anxiety, particularly among students who had low effortful control. In the mathematics domain, the associations between the self-concept of ability and achievement emotions were somewhat stronger than in literacy, and the domain-specific associations were not dependent on student temperament.

     

Teachers' self-concepts and emotions: Conceptualization and relations

The present study with 248 German teachers examined the conceptual separability of six dimensions of teachers’ self-concept (pedagogical skills, subject content knowledge, consulting, innovation, media use, diagnostics) and three emotions (enjoyment, anger, anxiety) as well as relations of these constructs. Results showed that all self-concepts and emotions were clearly separable from each other. All six self-concepts were positively related to enjoyment and negatively related to anxiety and anger. However, regression analysis revealed that only self-concept of pedagogical skills was positively linked to enjoyment and negatively linked to anger, while only self-concept of subject content knowledge was negatively linked to anxiety.     

Mathematics-related emotions among Finnish adolescents across different performance levels

This study examined the relation of mathematics performance and gender with seven mathematics-related emotions (enjoyment, pride, anger, anxiety, shame, hopelessness and boredom) among adolescents. Using strict and lenient mathematics performance cut-off scores, respective groups of adolescents with mathematics difficulties (MD, n = 136), low (LA, n = 166) and typical mathematics performance (TA, n = 1056) were identified. Our results revealed that the MD group reported more shame than the LA group. The MD group also reported more negative emotions and less positive emotions than the TA group, with the exception of boredom, for which there was no statistically significant difference. The interaction effect between mathematics performance group and gender on emotions was significant. Only females with MD showed significantly higher levels of hopelessness and shame than females with LA, while males with LA even reported more boredom than males with MD. Concerning gender differences, males reported slightly more pride and enjoyment than females. However, the direction and magnitude of the gender differences showed great variance among mathematics performance groups. The practical implications of the results are discussed.     

Academic self-concept and emotion relations: Domain specificity and age effects

The present study investigated the relations between academic self-concepts and the emotions of enjoyment, pride, anxiety, anger, and boredom as experienced in mathematics, physics, German, and English classes (N = 1710; grades 8 and 11). In line with our hypotheses derived from appraisal-based emotion theories and self-efficacy research, within-domain relations between self-concepts and emotions were relatively strong and notably stronger within quantitative domains (mathematics and physics) than verbal domains (German and English). Also consistent with our hypotheses, stronger relations between self-concepts and emotions were observed among older students. Self-concept and emotion relations further differed as a function of the specific emotion assessed, with pride showing the strongest and boredom the weakest relations with academic self-concepts in the four domains assessed. Methodological and educational implications as well as directions for future research are discussed.     

Perceived learning environment and students' emotional experiences: A multilevel analysis of mathematics classrooms

A multilevel approach was used to analyse relationships between perceived classroom environments and emotions in mathematics. Based on Pekrun's (2000) [A social-cognitive, control-value theory of achievement emotions. In J. Heckhausen (Ed.), Motivational psychology of human development (pp. 143–163)] social-cognitive, control-value theory of achievement emotions, we hypothesized that environmental characteristics conveying control and value to the students would be related to their experience of enjoyment, anxiety, anger, and boredom in mathematics. Multilevel modelling of data from 1623 students from 69 classes (grades 5–10) confirmed close relationships between environmental variables and emotional experiences that functioned predominantly at the individual level. Compositional effects further revealed that classes' aggregate environment perceptions as well as their compositions in terms of aggregate achievement and gender ratio were additionally linked to students' emotions in mathematics. Methodological and practical implications of the findings are discussed.     

Characteristics of teaching and students’ emotions in the classroom: Investigating differences across domains

This study investigated the relations between eight characteristics of teaching and students’ academic emotions (enjoyment, pride, anxiety, anger, helplessness and boredom) across four academic domains (mathematics, physics, German, and English). 121 students (50% female; 8th and 11th graders) were asked about their perceptions of teaching characteristics and their academic emotions using the experience sampling method (real-time approach) for a period of 10 school days, with intraindividual analyses conducted using a multilevel approach. Multilevel exploratory factor analysis revealed that the eight teaching characteristics (understandability, illustration, enthusiasm, fostering attention, lack of clarity, difficulty, pace, level of expectation) represented two factors, labeled supportive presentation style (e.g., comprising understandability) and excessive lesson demands (e.g., comprising difficulty). In line with our hypothesis, we found clear relations on the intraindividual level between the two factors of teaching characteristics and students’ academic emotions in the classroom (e.g., supportive presentation style positively related to students’ enjoyment and negatively related to their boredom). Further, and supporting the universality assumption of teaching characteristics/academic emotions relations, the strength of relations between the two factors of teaching characteristics and academic emotions was very similar across the four academic domains. Implications for future research and educational practice are discussed.     

Measuring emotions in students’ learning and performance: The Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ)

Aside from test anxiety scales, measurement instruments assessing students’ achievement emotions are largely lacking. This article reports on the construction, reliability, internal validity, and external validity of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ) which is designed to assess various achievement emotions experienced by students in academic settings. The instrument contains 24 scales measuring enjoyment, hope, pride, relief, anger, anxiety, shame, hopelessness, and boredom during class, while studying, and when taking tests and exams. Scale construction used a rational-empirical strategy based on Pekrun’s (2006) control-value theory of achievement emotions and prior exploratory research. The instrument was tested in a study using a sample of university students (N = 389). Findings indicate that the scales are reliable, internally valid as demonstrated by confirmatory factor analysis, and externally valid in terms of relationships with students’ control-value appraisals, learning, and academic performance. The results provide further support for the control-value theory and help to elucidate the structure and role of emotions in educational settings. Directions for future research and implications for educational practice are discussed.     

Affective and motivational factors of learning in online mathematics courses

We investigated what factors would be related to students' achievement in mathematics courses offered at a virtual high school. This was an attempt to understand why some succeed and some do not as well as to suggest what should be done to help with student success. Seventy‐two students responded to a self‐report survey on motivation (ie, self‐efficacy, intrinsic value), mathematics achievement emotions (ie, anxiety, anger, shame, hopelessness, boredom, enjoyment, pride), and cognitive processes (ie, cognitive strategy use, self‐regulation). A three‐step hierarchical multivariate regression was employed to examine which of the factors predict student achievement. Results showed that motivation accounted for approximately 13% of the variance in student achievement and self‐efficacy was the significant individual predictor of student achievement. However, when achievement emotions were added to the analysis, self‐efficacy failed to predict student achievement and emotions accounted for 37% of the variance in student achievement. Cognitive strategy use and self‐regulation did not explain any additional variance in the final scores. Findings are discussed and implications for future research and development are also suggested.     

Emotional experiences during test taking: Does cognitive ability make a difference?

This study examined test-related experiences of enjoyment, anger, anxiety, and boredom in a sample of 2059 German school students (50% female) from grade 6, and how they relate to students' abstract reasoning ability (ARA). Emotions were assessed immediately before, during, and after a mathematics achievement test. Analysis of variance showed that emotions experienced during the test situation differed based on students' ARA level, with correspondence analysis revealing substantial differences between the emotional profiles of different ability groups. Enjoyment proved to be most prominent in students with high ARA, whereas anger and anxiety were predominant for students with low ARA. Boredom was found to be highest among students in the intermediate ARA group. Implications for research and practice are discussed.     

Reciprocal relations between adolescents’ self-concepts of ability and achievement emotions in mathematics and literacy

This longitudinal study examined cross-lagged relations of self-concepts of ability and achievement emotions (i.e., enjoyment, boredom, anxiety) in two central school subjects (i.e., mathematics and literacy). Adolescents (N = 848) reported their achievement emotions and self-concepts of ability four times during Grades 6 and 7. The pattern of results was different for mathematics and literacy subjects. For mathematics the results of random intercept cross-lagged panel models showed a positive reciprocal relationship between self-concepts of ability and enjoyment and a negative reciprocal relationship between self-concept and anxiety. Lower self-concepts of ability in mathematics also predicted higher boredom in mathematics but not vice versa. For literacy, in turn, self-concept of ability did not predict any of the achievement emotions and emotions did not predict literacy self-concept of ability. The results suggest that achievement emotions act as sources as well as consequences of adolescents’ self-concepts of ability, particularly in mathematics.     

Student learning emotions in middle school mathematics classrooms: investigating associations with dialogic instructional practices

Emotions are central to how students experience mathematics, yet we know little about how specific instructional practices relate to students’ emotions in mathematics learning. We examined how dialogic instruction, a socially dynamic form of instruction, was associated with four learning emotions in mathematics: enjoyment, pride, anger, and boredom. We also examined whether these associations differed by student gender and prior mathematics achievement. The sample consisted of 1307 sixth through eighth grade students (51.6% female, 59.0% White, 30.8% African American, and 10.3% other race; 42.3% receive free/reduced price lunch) from 70 mathematics classrooms. Results indicated that teachers who used more dialogic mathematics instruction had students who reported more enjoyment and pride, and less anger and boredom. Males and low-achieving students reported more positive and fewer negative emotions with greater dialogic instruction compared to their female and high-achieving counterparts.     

Intraindividual relations between achievement goals and discrete achievement emotions: An experience sampling approach

Theories on the link between achievement goals and achievement emotions focus on their within-person functional relationship (i.e., intraindividual relations). However, empirical studies have failed to analyze these intraindividual relations and have instead examined between-person covariation of the two constructs (i.e., interindividual relations). Aiming to better connect theory and empirical research, the present study (N = 120 10th grade students) analyzed intraindividual relations by assessing students' state goals and emotions using experience sampling (N = 1409 assessments within persons). In order to replicate previous findings on interindividual relations, students' trait goals and emotions were assessed using self-report questionnaires. Despite being statistically independent, both types of relations were consistent with theoretical expectations, as shown by multi-level modeling: Mastery goals were positive predictors of enjoyment and negative predictors of boredom and anger; performance-approach goals were positive predictors of pride; and performance-avoidance goals were positive predictors of anxiety and shame. Reasons for the convergence of intra- and interindividual findings, directions for future research, and implications for educational practice are discussed.     

Emotional profiles regarding maths among primary school children – A two-year longitudinal study

Learning maths is challenging for many primary school students, and teachers must understand students’ learning and emotional processes specific to learning maths. The current research, grounded in control-value theory, focused on achievement emotions regarding maths. Primary school students (N?=?71) were studied with the primary objective of examining the longitudinal trajectories of achievement emotions of third graders over two years. The Portuguese Achievement Emotions Questionnaire for Elementary Students was administered biannually to assess enjoyment, anxiety, and boredom regarding maths. The results indicate that enjoyment decreased and boredom increased over time, revealing three emotional profiles: positive, negative and moderate. The positive profile showed the highest scores in maths achievement. Profile membership was moderately stable and became increasingly stable and structured. In examining the complexity of students’ emotional profiles and processes, the importance of understanding them to enhance educational support, development, and learning was highlighted.

     

Enjoyment,Boredom, Anxiety in Elementary Schools in Two Domains: Relations With Achievement

This study investigated the enjoyment, boredom, and anxiety of elementary school students and the relations of these emotions with achievement in two domains. Seven-hundred-and-sixty-seven second- and fourth-graders completed an adaptation of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire-Elementary School (AEQ-ES: Lichtenfeld, Pekrun, Stupnisky, Reiss, & Murayama, 2012) assessing their emotions in their native language and mathematics. The hierarchical model of the instrument was invariant across countries (Italy, Germany, United States), grades, gender, and domains. Anxiety related negatively to achievement, while enjoyment related positively to achievement only in mathematics. Second-graders reported more enjoyment and less boredom and anxiety than fourth-graders. Overall, mathematics resulted in better emotions than native language. The results have implications for future research on achievement emotions in elementary school.     

Getting along and feeling good: Reciprocal associations between student-teacher relationship quality and students’ emotions

Relationship quality and emotional experience are both important constructs in learning environments but the question of how they are linked requires more attention in empirical research. We hypothesized reciprocal associations between student-teacher relationship quality (i.e., interpersonal closeness) and students' emotions in the classroom (i.e., enjoyment, pride, anxiety, anger, boredom, and shame). Data from a two-wave longitudinal study with annual assessments in grade 10 (Time 1) and 11 (Time 2) were used to test this hypothesis (N = 535; mean age at Time 1: 16.7 years, SD = 0.6). Student-perceived relationship quality and students’ emotions were assessed in the academic domains of mathematics, German, English, and French. In line with our hypothesis, cross-lagged panel models showed reciprocal associations: Higher relationship quality was associated with stronger positive emotions and weaker negative emotions over time. In turn, lower negative emotions and higher positive emotions were associated with higher relationship quality. The association between initial emotions and student-teacher relationship quality one year later was stronger than the reverse association. Further, the links between relationship quality and emotions were largely equivalent across school domains but differed in strength across emotions. Implications for future research and educational practice are discussed.     

Variations of Normal Children

Previous research indicates that academic emotions are largely organized along domain-specific lines. In the present study (N = 1,687; Grades 8/11), the authors explored the domain specificity of academic emotions in terms of the moderating influence of having the same versus a different course instructor across domains. The authors evaluated discrete emotions consisting of enjoyment, pride, anxiety, anger, and boredom as experienced in the academic domains of mathematics and physics. Consistent with previous findings, between-domain relations for these emotions were relatively weak. These relations were, however, significantly stronger in classes having the same instructor in mathematics and physics compared with classes having different instructors for each subject. Nevertheless, the between-domain relations in classes having the same instructor were not strong enough to disconfirm the domain-specific conceptualization of academic emotions. Last, the authors discuss directions for future research on additional factors potentially affecting the strength of between-domain relations of academic emotions.     

Achievement Emotions and Academic Performance: Longitudinal Models of Reciprocal Effects

A reciprocal effects model linking emotion and achievement over time is proposed. The model was tested using five annual waves of the Project for the Analysis of Learning and Achievement in Mathematics (PALMA) longitudinal study, which investigated adolescents’ development in mathematics (Grades 5–9; N = 3,425 German students; mean starting age = 11.7 years; representative sample). Structural equation modeling showed that positive emotions (enjoyment, pride) positively predicted subsequent achievement (math end‐of‐the‐year grades and test scores), and that achievement positively predicted these emotions, controlling for students’ gender, intelligence, and family socioeconomic status. Negative emotions (anger, anxiety, shame, boredom, hopelessness) negatively predicted achievement, and achievement negatively predicted these emotions. The findings were robust across waves, achievement indicators, and school tracks, highlighting the importance of emotions for students’ achievement and of achievement for the development of emotions.