Achievement Emotions as Predictors of Academic Success: The Mediating Role of Happiness and Emotional Intelligence among Indian Secondary School Students

The present study examines the role of achievement emotions in academic engagement and academic achievement of secondary school students in India. The study also analyzes the mediating relationship between emotional intelligence and happiness in the link between academic achievement. From data from a subset of 3,570 people, synthesizing data from emotional intelligence, life satisfaction, and achievement emotion datasets, it is found that positive emotions (e.g., enjoyment, hopefulness, pride) significantly improve academic effort, whereas negative emotions (e.g., anxiety, boredom, hopelessness) have a significant negative impact on academic effort. The results indicate that emotional intelligence is related to higher level of happiness, which in turn is related to higher positive achievement emotions and academic achievement. The study aims to suggest a comprehensive emotional well-being framework to the schools in India based on the National Education Policy (2020).