Emotions and Learning in South African Schools

A study recently published in Cogent Education (2026) is shedding new light on the emotional lives of South African secondary school learners — and why those emotions matter deeply for academic success. Conducted by Christiaan Bekker, Sebastiaan Rothmann, and Magda Kloppers of the North-West University, the research examined achievement emotions — the feelings students experience in relation to their schoolwork — among Grade 9 and Grade 10 learners in the Sedibeng District of Gauteng Province.

Perhaps the most practically significant findings emerged from the regression analyses, which investigated what factors predict whether learners experience positive or negative emotions in the classroom. The study found that the language of instruction, a learner's ability to concentrate on schoolwork at home, whether they liked or disliked their mathematics or English teacher, and whether they found those subjects interesting were all significantly associated with their emotional experience of learning.

These findings carry important implications for South African educators and school policymakers. They suggest that achievement emotions are not fixed personality traits but are deeply responsive to contextual factors — many of which can be addressed. A learner who struggles to focus at home due to overcrowding or household instability, or who has a poor relationship with a teacher, is at heightened risk of experiencing the kinds of negative emotions — anxiety, boredom, and shame — that undermine learning. Conversely, fostering subject interest and positive teacher-learner relationships could meaningfully boost positive emotions like enjoyment and pride, which are associated with motivation and perseverance.

At a time when South Africa continues to grapple with persistent challenges in educational outcomes, this research reminds us that academic performance cannot be separated from the emotional experiences of learners — and that how a child feels in the classroom may be just as important as what they know.

The details of the article are as follows: Bekker, C.I., Rothmann, S., & Kloppers, M.M. (2026). The construct validity of the Achievement Emotions Questionnaire and the associations of demographic and contextual factors with achievement emotions in South African Grade 9 and 10 learners. Cogent Education, 13(1), 2676156. https://doi.org/10.1080/2331186X.2026.2676156

Watch a video about the study’s findings here.