The purpose of the present study was to measure the relationship of emotional intelligence, classroom engagement and academic performance of undergraduate students studying at the university level in Pakistan. In this study, five components of emotional intelligence such as self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy and social skills were investigated. Furthermore, classroom engagement was conceptualized as cognitive engagement, relational engagement and social media engagement. In the current study, levels of emotional intelligence, classroom engagement and academic performance of the students were measured. The influence of emotional intelligence on academic performance was explored. Similarly, the influence of emotional intelligence on classroom engagement was also measured. Moreover, the influence of classroom engagement on the academic performance of the students was investigated. The study also examined the mediating role of classroom engagement between emotional intelligence and academic performance.
A sequential explanatory mixed-method research design was adopted for the purpose of the study. In the quantitative phase, the present study measured the emotional intelligence, classroom engagement and academic performance of students through a survey questionnaire. The questionnaire was adapted from previous studies. The validity and reliability of the research questionnaire were measured through a pilot study and experts’ reviews. The measurement model approach was applied to measure the reliability and validity of the 7-point Likert-type instrument. Moreover, structural equation modeling was applied to measure the direct and indirect relationships proposed in the research framework. The population of the study was undergraduate students enrolled in universities in Lahore District, in Pakistan. The data were collected from undergraduate students from three faculties of undergraduate programs: social sciences, business education, and pure sciences, for stage one. In this study, a stratified convenient sampling technique was adopted to determine the sample of 305 participants. The PLS-SEM (partial least squares-structural equation modeling) was applied through SmartPLS 3.2.2 to assess the direct and indirect relationships between variables. In the qualitative phase, the purposive sampling technique was used to carry out semi-structured interviews with 36 undergraduate students. The qualitative data were analyzed using a three-stage thematic analysis technique.
The sequential explanatory data analyses revealed that the level of emotional intelligence, classroom engagement and academic performance was generally high among the undergraduate students. The findings showed that there was a positive and significant relationship between emotional intelligence and academic performance. Similarly, a positive and significant relationship was found between emotional intelligence and classroom engagement. A positive relationship was also found between classroom engagement and academic performance. The mediation analysis indicated that classroom engagement mediated the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic performance. The results of the study led to the conclusion that emotional intelligence is a predictor of academic performance and classroom engagement. Similarly, classroom engagement is also a predictor of academic performance. It was also concluded that classroom engagement mediated the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic performance. The results of this study may be valuable for future research in the field of higher education. It is also suggested that further research may explore the mediating role of some other variables such as self-efficacy, self-esteem, resilience and internal locus of control. This study has significant implications for university teachers, curriculum developers and policy makers.
Keywords: Emotional intelligence, self-awareness, self-regulation, motivation, empathy social skills, classroom engagement, cognitive engagement, relational engagement and social media engagement, academic performance, public and private universities, Pakistan