Feedback orientation and learning-related academic emotions: An exploratory study in Filipino university students

Although students’ interpretations and emotional reactions to teacher feedback could influence how students apply teacher feedback to improve performance, these cognitive and emotional processes remain understudied. Pekrun’s control-value theory posits that students’ perceptions of their capability (control) and the usefulness of the academic task (value) could influence students’ academic emotions. This study examined how students’ feedback perceptions influence their positive (joy, hope, and pride) and negative (hopelessness, boredom, shame, anger, and anxiety) learning-related emotions. We examined the four aspects of feedback perceptions through a construct called feedback orientation. Specifically, they are feedback self-efficacy (perceived capability to use feedback), feedback social awareness (perceived social value of feedback), feedback accountability (perceived responsibility for using feedback), and feedback utility (perceived usefulness of feedback). A total of 112 Filipino university students (Female n = 87, 77%) completed the Feedback Orientation Scale and the Learning-related Academic Emotions Questionnaire. Results from a path analysis showed that the four dimensions of feedback orientation are positively correlated with joy and negatively correlated with anxiety and shame. A further path analysis revealed that feedback self-efficacy is the strongest predictor of positive emotions among the four dimensions. The results suggest that promoting students’ feedback self-efficacy in using their teachers’ feedback might be essential in fostering positive emotions in students’ learning experiences. Copyright © 2023 The Author(s), under exclusive license to Springer Nature Singapore Pte Ltd.