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

Abstract

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.