Demonstrate that the teacher's emotions act as a "domino effect" in the classroom

BarcelonaThe emotions of teachers in the classroom play a fundamental role in student learning. Until today, this hypothesis had been defended theoretically and on a small scale, but now, researchers from the University of Munich have been able to demonstrate this relationship with students and teachers from eight different countries. Research by the American Psychological Association published this Monday in the journal Journal of Educational Psychology has shown that when teachers experience enjoyment, they offer higher quality instruction that increases students' confidence in their abilities, interests, and academic performance. In contrast, teacher anger is linked to deficient teaching and poorer student outcomes.

To reach this conclusion, researchers analyzed data from 679 mathematics teachers and over 17,500 students from Germany, Colombia, Spain, Japan, Mexico, the United Kingdom, Chile, and China. During the study, students studied the same mathematics lesson, allowing researchers to compare results across classrooms in different countries.

The researchers focused on three key aspects of teaching quality: classroom management, supportive teacher-student relationships, and cognitive activation, which involves encouraging students to think critically. In this process, teachers reported their levels of enjoyment and anger, while students assessed the teaching quality of their professors, and described their own confidence and interest in the subject. They also completed a performance test.

"We decided to conduct this research because teaching is not just an intellectual activity, but also an emotional one," argues the lead author of the research, Marina Elena Pfeifer, a doctor of philosophy from Ludwig-Maximilians-University of Munich. The philosopher explains that they hypothesized "that a teacher's emotions act as a domino effect in the classroom, indirectly linking to student outcomes through the quality of their instruction."

The research findings supported this hypothesis. Professors who reported enjoying teaching more were more likely to manage classrooms effectively, build supportive relationships with students, and use cognitively engaging instructional strategies. These practices translated into greater student confidence in their abilities, increased interest in learning, and better test performance. In contrast, professors who reported feeling more anger showed lower levels of teaching quality in the three areas analyzed and were associated with less favorable student outcomes.

Caught in emotional cycles

Beyond the direct results, Pfeifer explains that the most "fascinating" part of the study was the "intercultural similarity" of the findings. "Despite considerable cultural, economic, and linguistic differences, the mechanisms by which a teacher's emotions shape the quality of teaching and student outcomes remained remarkably similar worldwide," explains the researcher.

Faced with this conclusion, the researchers highlight the importance of supporting teachers' emotional well-being as part of improving educational systems. "Our findings suggest that teachers can easily get caught in powerful, self-reinforcing emotional and behavioral cycles," warns Pfeifer, who insists that "a teacher's emotions are not just a byproduct of the educational process, but actively contribute to it." "The main real-world implication [of the study] is that supporting a teacher's emotional well-being is not just a nice-to-have, but is fundamental to student success," concludes the researcher.