Mixed feelings: Profiles of emotions among elementary mathematics students and how they function within a control-value framework

Linking teacher support to achievement emotion profile: the mediating role of basic psychological need satisfaction

The current study used a person-centered approach to explore the co-occurrence of college students' achievement emotions. It also examined the impact of teacher support on achievement emotion profiles and the mediating effect of need satisfaction. A total of 866 college students participated in the survey. A robust three-step latent profile analysis was employed to analyze the data. Four profiles of achievement emotions were identified: moderate mixed emotions, the blends of high positive emotions, the blends of moderate positive emotions, and high mixed emotions. Higher perceived teacher support was associated with a greater likelihood of being classified into the blends of moderate positive emotion profile or the blends of high positive emotion profile. Moreover, basic psychological need satisfaction mediated the relationship between teacher support and the four emotion profiles. Our findings contribute to a more comprehensive understanding of the role of teacher support in shaping achievement emotion profiles, helping to broaden the application of self-determination theory to explain the mechanism by which external support influences emotion profiles.

First-year students' achievement emotions at university: A cluster analytic approach to understand variability in attendance and attainment

BACKGROUND

Students' initial experiences at university often shape their attendance and attainment. For some students, university is a positive experience, whereas others seemingly struggle and have more negative emotions. Unearthing distinctions in first-year students' emotionality may be valuable in understanding their academic engagement and performance.

AIMS

The study's aim was to identify distinct profiles of students based on their achievement emotions and explore whether these profiles differed in university attendance and attainment. At least three emotional profiles were hypothesized (positive; moderate; negative) with a positive profile expected to display the highest attendance and attainment.

SAMPLE

Participants were 294 first-year undergraduate students from a university in the United Kingdom (Mage = 19.33 years; 127 men; 162 women).

METHODS

Students completed self-report measures of eight achievement emotions for general learning. Attendance and attainment data were collected from official records. Hierarchical cluster analysis was performed to profile students on their achievement emotions. Analysis of covariance explored profile differences in attendance and attainment.

RESULTS

Four emotional profiles emerged: positive; moderate; negative; mixed-valence (both positive and negative activating emotions). The positive and mixed-valence groups displayed equally high attendance compared to the moderate and negative groups. The positive group obtained higher academic attainment than the mixed-valence and negative emotion groups, but not the moderate group.

CONCLUSIONS

The findings highlight the diverse emotional experiences of first-year university students and the existence of co-occurring positive and negative activation emotions. This evidence may be of practical worth to educators in understanding variability in students' emotions, attendance and attainment.