Academic engagement and emotional regulation in university students

Abstract

The connection between students' engagement to their academic tasks and their emotional regulation strategies is a topic of significant relevance in the study of university education. This is due to the complexity of educational dynamics, which encompasses various factors essential to understanding the formative processes of future engineers. Consequently, the primary objective of this research was to examine the relationship between academic engagement and emotional regulation among engineering students. The study adopted a quantitative, correlational approach with a non-experimental, cross-sectional design and included a sample of 282 engineering students from Lima, Peru. The findings reveal that academic engagement is highly, positively, and significantly associated with the cognitive reappraisal strategy (r = 0.511, p = 0.000), while it demonstrates an inverse relationship with the emotional suppression strategy (r = -0.328, p = 0.000). Moreover, the findings indicate that women, students aged 30 to 40, those who simultaneously study and work, and individuals engaged in a blended learning modality demonstrate higher levels of engagement and cognitive reappraisal. In contrast, men and students aged 18 to 30 exhibit greater tendencies toward emotional suppression. These results revealed the current situation of the subjects surveyed and recommendations are provided to professors and universities to work on these topics.