Exploring the Complex Role of Emotions in Student Motivation, Performance, and Well-Being

…with Professor Reinhard Pekrun

In this episode, Professor Reinhard Pekrun discusses the critical role emotions play in academic settings. Drawing on his Control-Value Theory, he explains how emotions influence students' learning, motivation, and well-being. Pekrun challenges the oversimplified view that positive emotions always help and negative ones always hinder learning, emphasising context and intensity as key factors. He also highlights teachers' emotional impact on students and outlines six instructional strategies to foster positive emotional experiences. The episode concludes with practical insights for educators on supporting students' emotional health while maintaining their own enthusiasm and avoiding burnout.

Links:

Reinhard Pekrun: https://www.essex.ac.uk/people/PEKRU37203/Reinhard-Pekrun

Book: Emotion in Education. by Paul Schutz (Editor), Reinhard Pekrun (Editor), Gary D. Phye (Series Editor): https://www.amazon.co.uk/Emotion-Education-Educational-Psychology/dp/0123725453

Emotions in Learning, Unesco: https://unesdoc.unesco.org/ark:/48223/pf0000227679

Episode in Bullet points:

The role of emotions in education and their impact on learning and academic performance.

The relationship between students' emotional states and their motivation, self-regulation, and engagement.

The categorization of emotions into positive and negative, and their effects on learning outcomes.

The significance of context, intensity, and task demands in understanding emotional impacts on students.

The historical focus of educational research on cognitive processes, with a recent shift towards recognizing the importance of emotions.