Browsing by Author "Viljakainen, Reeta"

Emotions are present everywhere, also at school. In this thesis, I aim to clarify the meaning of academic emotions and achievement emotions by looking at research literature on the subject. Furthermore, I will study the connection between achievement emotions and achievement in mathematics through previous research. The theoretical basis of this thesis is the control-value theory developed by Pekrun (2000). According to the theory, different types of control-value appraisals and their combinations predict achievement emotions. This thesis is a descriptive literature review. In the thesis, I examined the connection between achievement emotions and achievement in school. The criteria for studies included were that their theoretical basis was in control-value theory and at least one of the subjects studied was mathematics. Based on previous research, enjoyment is directly related to better grades. Mathematics anxiety, on the other hand, is associated with lower achievement in mathematics. Boredom also has a significant yet modest negative relationship with academic success. The research studied in this thesis suggests that teachers should be increasingly aware of the emotions experienced in classrooms. They also ought to be able to create such learning environments and learning experiences that nourish emotions favourable for learning. It is therefore important to gain further research information on how different learning environments and teachers’ means and methods impact the pupils’ positive emotions and increase the amount of control and value appraised.