Emotional Aspects of Learning and Teaching: Reviewing the Field − Discussing the Issues

The introductory paper gives an overview of the international research on emotions in learning and teaching. It addresses various theoretical, contextual, practical, and empirical aspects. In the first part, the paper reflects the core concept of emotions with particular emphasis on academic and achievement emotions. Next, it reviews the impact of emotions on students’ learning and achievement, as well as on the relation between emotions and instructional quality. The final part deals with academic emotions viewed in the context of different school subjects. In general, this introductory paper emphasizes the relevance of emotions for education, especially for learning and teaching in school.