Exploring students’ perceived need and preferences for achievement emotion competence training

Given the importance of achievement emotions for students’ academic success and wellbeing, scholars are increasingly seeking to develop effective programs for equipping students with competencies for adaptively managing achievement emotions. To date, however, little is known about what kind of support, if any, students themselves perceive as useful. We thus conducted a needs assessment to explore the degree to which German lower secondary school students (N = 387) perceive a need for such training; how this need varies across students, possibly implying different implementation conditions; and their preferences for training formats/content. To this end, students completed a series of self-report measures targeting demographics, achievement emotions, perceived training need, and training preferences. Students’ responses were analyzed quantitatively and revealed a discernible need for training; that this need is higher for students with higher levels of negative achievement emotions (e.g., anxiety, disappointment) and relief, and with lower achievement; and discernible trends in students’ preferences for training formats, particularly with regard to opportunities for social interaction with peers. Implications for research and designing effective as well as appealing achievement emotion competence trainings are discussed.

Effect of Achievement Emotion Regulation Training Package on Negative Emotions and Learning Strategies Among Female High School Students

Background: Given the importance of emotions, the present study was conducted to investigate the effectiveness of achievement emotion regulation training package on negative emotions and self-regulation learning strategies (cognitive and metacognitive) among female high school students. Methods: The research method was semi-experimental with pre-test, post-test, and follow-up for two months relative to the control group. The statistical population included female high school students in Tehran in the academic year 2017-2018. A sample size of 50 cases (25 students in each group) was selected using multi-stage random cluster sampling. The experimental group learned how to regulate their achievement emotions in twelve 120-min sessions for two months. The Achievement Emotions Questionnaire (AEQ) and Motivated Strategies Learning Questionnaire (MSLQ) were used. Raw data analysis was performed using SPSS V. 22 and an Analysis of Covariance (ANCOVA). Results: The results showed that regulation of achievement emotions caused a decrease in negative emotions (93.7%) and an increase in the use of cognitive/metacognitive strategies (53.6%) among experimental group members (P<0.001), while these results approximately did not change in the follow-up phase regarding negative emotions reduction (93.5%) and the increased use of cognitive/metacognitive strategies (52.6%). Conclusion: The effectiveness of the discussed package was proved in the reduction of negative emotions.