Emotional component and academic

performance

Componente emocional y el

rendimiento académico

How to cite: Velázquez, L. H. I. y Castañeda, E. C. I. (2024). Emotional component and academic

performance. Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 5(10), 125-137

125

* Ph.D. student in Education Sciences with an Emphasis on Research, Evaluation, and Educational Project Formu-

lation, Metropolitan University of Education, Science, and Technology, Panama. Master's in Educational Psychology

from Pontifical Bolivarian University, Medellin, Colombia. Bachelor's in Psychology from the University of Antioquia,

Medellin, Colombia. Guidance Counselor at Carlos Enrique Cortés Herrera School in Itagüí, Antioquia, Colombia.

Email: hectoerlopez.est@umecit.edu.pa

** Ph.D. student in Education Sciences with an Emphasis on Research, Evaluation, and Educational Project Formu-

lation, Metropolitan University of Education, Science, and Technology, Panama. Master's in Education from the Uni-

versity of Medellin, Colombia. Bachelor's in Preschool Education from the University of Antioquia, Medellin,

Colombia. Elementary School Teacher at San José Obrero School in Medellin, Antioquia, Colombia. Email: cla-

rain1204@gmail.com

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 5(10), 125-137

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

Clara Inés Castañeda Escobar***

https://orcid.org/0009-0004-7843-8413

La Estrella, Department of Antioquia / Colombia

Héctor Iván Velásquez López**

https://orcid.org/0000-0001-9648-3091

La Estrella, Department of Antioquia / Colombia

Received: February / 26 / 2024 Reviewed: February / 28 / 2024 Approved: April / 10 /2024

Abstract

The present article is part of a doctoral thesis, which emphasizes emotional components and

academic performance, focusing on determining the relationship between emotional compo-

nents and academic performance of students in educational institutions in Medellin, Antioquia.

The study followed positivist paradigm procedures with a quantitative approach, using a basic

study type and correlational level. The sample consisted of 24 teachers and 36 students, who

were administered a 60-item instrument. The results showed a strong and significant positive

correlation coefficient between the variables (r = 0.878, p < 0.005). This indicates that as the

emotional component increases, so does academic performance. It was concluded that the

strength of this correlation is high, supporting the relevance of addressing students' emotions

in teaching. Furthermore, the statistical significance of the results indicates that this relationship

is not random but a significant finding.

Keywords:

emotional components, academic performance, relationship, education.

Resumen

El presente artículo hace parte de una tesis doctoral, en la cual se hace énfasis en los componentes

emocionales y el rendimiento académico, por lo que su objetivo se centró en determinar la rela-

ción entre el componente emocional y el rendimiento académico de los estudiantes en las ins-

tituciones educativas de Medellín, Antioquia. El estudio siguió los procedimientos del paradigma

positivista con enfoque cuantitativo, mediante un tipo de estudio básico y nivel correlacional. La

muestra estuvo constituida por 24 docentes y 36 estudiantes, a quienes se les aplicó un instru-

mento de 60 ítems. Los resultados demostraron que existe un coeficiente de correlación positiva

significativa fuerte y significativa entre las variables (r = 0,878, p < 0,005). Esto indica que a medida

que aumenta el componente emocional, también lo hace el rendimiento académico. Por lo que

se concluyó que, la fuerza de esta correlación es alta, lo que respalda la relevancia de abordar las

emociones de los estudiantes en la enseñanza. Además, la significancia estadística de los resul-

tados indica que esta relación no es aleatoria, sino que es un hallazgo significativo.

Palabras clave:

componente emocional, rendimiento académico, relación, educación.

Introduction

The Covid-19 coronavirus affected societies worldwide, negatively disrupting individuals and

production systems. Consequently, the educational system was influenced to an equal or greater

extent than the production system to adapt to the measures adopted to curb the health crisis.

Therefore, schools were closed, and students suspended in-person classes; the well-known

unexpected nature of the problem forced authorities to take drastic measures and follow the

control measures established by the World Health Organization (WHO, 2020). In this way, the

educational system was obliged to migrate to virtual technological platforms as strategies to

ensure the continuity of learning in schools.

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Héctor Iván Velásquez López and Clara Inés Castañeda Escobar

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 5(10) 125-137

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

127

Regarding this matter, the Economic Commission for Latin America and the Caribbean (ECLAC)

and the United Nations Educational, Scientific and Cultural Organization (Unesco, 2020) stated

that the health crisis transformed the educational process in several schools in more than 190

countries, in the quest to control the spread of the virus and thus try to reduce the chains of

contagion. Reports from these organizations show that, since the beginning of the pandemic,

more than 1.2 billion students worldwide and at all educational levels were forced to stay at

home without being able to attend school.

Furthermore, Pérez et al. (2022) argue that it is potentially important from a biosociological

perspective to work on emotions so that individuals can process the information they absorb

through the stimuli presented in the social, family, and school environment. This means that it

is important to develop emotional intelligence so that people can manage their emotions in

the face of any problem that arises, applying capacities and skills to maintain successful mental

health; these mechanisms for learning emotional skills influence behavior and how each human

being faces specific situations.

Based on all of the above, it can be inferred that the role of emotions in educational situations

is essential, hence the urgent need to delve into the incidence of emotional intelligence in de-

termining students' learning achievements. For a long time, significant transformations have

occurred in teaching and learning processes to promote the comprehensive education of stu-

dents, developing their knowledge, skills, and abilities in the cognitive, social, moral, and emo-

tional fields. This notion of competence includes the ability to adapt to changing realities and

to integrate successfully into different environments that require proper emotional management.

Therefore, it is especially important to develop emotional competence in primary grades (Vi-

llalobos & Riquelme, 2022).

According to the approach made by Lozano-Peña et al. (2022), following the upheaval that

shook humanity in 2020 (SARS-COVID 19), which caused drastic changes in people's lives at an

individual, social, and even productive level, the author highlights that this situation generated

moments of distress and anxiety, especially in the child population who couldn't comprehend

the situation and were subjected to health measures, such as ceasing to attend their schools.

According to Núñez & Llorent (2022), referring to the Latin American context, various studies

have emphasized that the emotional impact of the pandemic has been significantly manifested

in children. They were affected by fear and insecurity, developing behaviors that persist to this

day, marking their behavior in the post-pandemic period. Thus, numerous students are still ob-

served with traits of fear, insecurity, and withdrawal, among other emotional manifestations.

Similarly, according to data from Latin America, approximately 160 million students were unable to

attend their schools, leading to widespread emotional disturbances. This situation exposed students

to a comprehensive transformation in all aspects of their lives. Therefore, it is imperative that schools

seek the necessary tools to facilitate children's adaptation to the new post-pandemic school envi-

ronment, focusing especially on the development of their emotional intelligence (Simeón et al., 2021).

Emotional component and academic performance

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Héctor Iván Velásquez López and Clara Inés Castañeda Escobar

However, what is observed in the socio-emotional competencies of students in other contexts

does not differ from the reality in Colombia. Despite the fundamental mission of the school,

which is to promote the development of both intellectual and emotional competencies in stu-

dents, it is evident that they face similar challenges. The goal is for students to acquire emotional

knowledge that allows them to evolve as individuals and to confront the challenges present in

their social environment in a balanced manner.

In this regard, it is necessary for schools to work on socio-emotional competencies that lead to

the psychological balance and stability of teachers, especially in post-pandemic times where

behaviors of distancing among students, apathy, insecurities, and intolerance are observed,

often leading to confrontations and shouting. It can be affirmed that emotions, both positive

and negative, can have a significant impact on learning. Primarily, positive emotions facilitate

learning, leading students to focus, overcoming any predispositions. Students may feel more

interested and engaged with school, which leads to better retention and comprehension of the

information provided to them (Acosta, 2022).

Conversely, from the perspective of negative emotions, these can interfere with learning. A per-

son may feel blocked, distracted, and distressed, which interferes with learning processes and

the ability to retain information. All of this highlights the need to recognize and manage emo-

tions within pedagogical processes. It is not necessarily the case that a psychologist must inter-

vene to address them; teachers can address them by acquiring appropriate scientific information

and working on all those emotions that represent setbacks in relation to the academic and social

development of the student (Ferreira et al., 2023).

In the same line of thought, according to Soto-Romero et al. (2023), teachers contribute to de-

veloping their students' emotional competencies in several ways, including practicing empathy

and acumen: teachers need to relate to each student as an individual and understand that ever-

yone has different needs and emotional situations. This information can be used to find new

ways to manage their emotions and promote a sense of trust. Additionally, the teacher must

create a safe and respectful environment, as a respectful, tolerant, and empathetic context is

essential for students to feel safe sharing their emotions and feelings.On the other hand, Ber-

múdez (2022) points out that students cannot only be taught how to think and reason; their

ways of thinking, acting, and above all, feeling, must be considered. Only then is education con-

ducted with emotional intelligence in the Colombian educational system. Hence, teachers create

environments fostering open communication and preventing discrimination. Additionally, they

should carry out emotional exploration actions: teachers can design activities that help students

examine and perceive their own emotions and those of others.

According to Acosta & Blanco (2022), teachers play an important role in the development of

students' emotional intelligence, facilitating their understanding and effective management of

emotions. Furthermore, they consider it relevant to highlight the influence of emotions on me-

mory, as there is an improvement in the ability to remember experiences when they are asso-

ciated with positive emotions, while experiences linked to negative emotions can create barriers

Revista Digital de Investigación y Postgrado, 5(10) 125-137

Electronic ISSN: 2665-038X

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to knowledge retention. Therefore, it is relevant to consider emotional dimensions when desig-

ning educational strategies and methods.

According to Acosta & Blanco (2022), emotional components have a significant impact on the

learning process. First, because emotions act as motivation for learning. When people are mo-

tivated or interested in the subject matter, they tend to be more receptive and pay more atten-

tion to all the information they receive. Second, if a student feels frustration, anxiety, or is

stressed, they will hardly pay attention, as these emotions often interfere with learning processes

and information retention, which can interfere with their ability to learn.

Likewise, emotions also affect memory. When an experience is rated positively, it enhances the

ability to recall it over time. However, when an experience is associated with a negative emotion,

it can create a barrier to knowledge retention because the brain avoids recalling the negative

experience (Suárez & Castro, 2022).

Thus, Núñez & Llorent (2022) consider that emotional components should be related to emo-

tional intelligence within educational institutions. By giving it the connotation of intelligence, it

can be educated, being conceived as an area or dimension of the student that should be at-

tended to as part of their comprehensive training. Just as mathematics is taught without ne-

glecting language, cognitive competencies cannot be developed while neglecting emotional

competencies.

In this regard, emotional intelligence refers to the way of self-awareness and self-control of one's

own sensations and emotions in order to regulate behaviors and responses to any stimulus.

Gardner (2016) defines it as the biosociological potential that every human being has to process

information received through stimuli generated in their social and/or family environment. This

means that this intelligence can be developed in such a way that individuals can regulate their

reactions to certain circumstances. According to the author's approach, it is understood that

this intelligence attributes skills and abilities to people for managing their feelings. This means

that EI is a set of skills, attitudes, abilities, and competencies that determine a person's behavior,

reactions, or mental state.

The study adhered to positivist processes with a quantitative and correlational approach. In this

regard, Acosta (2023) defines the quantitative approach as those related to the positivist para-

digm, meaning they adhere to its characteristics of a single method, mathematical analysis, and

prediction of results. This paradigm examines the objectivity of a problem through causal em-

pirical verification and its effects, rather than seeking subjective inferences from the facts. It exa-

mines the objectivity of the problem by collecting quantitative information about it. The study

aims to evaluate the created situation through variables, dimensions, and indicators. These

quantitative studies reflect a numerical mechanism, frequency, which allows for drawing specific

conclusions that can be generalized as data to measure certain behaviors.

Based on the presented problem and the proposed objectives, the study aimed to measure

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Héctor Iván Velásquez López and Clara Inés Castañeda Escobar

two variables to see if they are related to the same topic and analyze correlations. According

to Hernández & Mendoza (2018), the purpose of correlation studies is to determine the degree

of relationship or association (not causality) between two variables. Hence, due to the nature of

the study, it had a descriptive scope of the observed realities and was also considered basic, as

it seeks to deepen the knowledge of emotional components to determine to what extent they

are related to learning.

Additionally, it analyzes the problem to understand and describe the properties and dimensions

of the variables involved in the study. A questionnaire was designed as an instrument for teachers

to respond to the behaviors they observe in their students. Likewise, the students themselves pro-

vided insight into their actions and emotions, allowing the measurement of variables through their

dimensions and indicators. The questionnaire was administered to 24 teachers and 36 seventh-

grade students, who had the consent of their legal guardians. It is worth noting that the students

were given a questionnaire that was easy for them to understand and complete with clear ins-

tructions. As for the teachers, they were given a questionnaire to measure their perception of the

socio-emotional development of the students. The data were analyzed using SPSS version 21.

Methodology