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ORIGINAL RESEARCH article
Front. Educ.
Sec. Higher Education
Volume 10 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/feduc.2025.1535996
This article is part of the Research Topic Positive Higher Education: Empowering Students through Learning and Wellbeing View all 11 articles
Building Better Learners: Exploring Positive Emotions and Life Satisfaction as Keys to Academic Engagement
Provisionally accepted- Putra Malaysia University, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
Purpose: This study investigates the relationships between positive emotions, life satisfaction, and academic engagement (absorption, vigor, and dedication) among undergraduates. Drawing on the broaden-and-build theory, the research aims to clarify how positive emotions influence academic engagement, both directly and indirectly, through enhanced life satisfaction.Methods: A total of 335 university students (197 female, 138 male) from four universities in southern Sichuan, China, participated in the research. Data were collected through three online self-report questionnaires measuring positive emotions, life satisfaction, and academic engagement.The results demonstrate that positive emotions have significant direct effects on life satisfaction and academic engagement. Furthermore, life satisfaction mediated the relationship between positive emotions and academic engagement, highlighting crucial roles in enhancing student involvement.Significance: examine how positive emotions affect academic engagement in Chinese universities, underscoring the importance of cultivating positive atmosphere for both personal well-being and academic success. The findings also reinforce the Broaden and Build theory, showing that roles of positive emotions as essential resources for life satisfaction and academic development.
Keywords: Academic engagement, life satisfaction, Positive emotions, undergraduates, higher education
Received: 28 Nov 2024; Accepted: 03 Mar 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Wang, WAN JAAFAR and Sulong. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Xiaoling Wang, Putra Malaysia University, Selangor Darul Ehsan, 43400, Selangor Darul Ehsan, Malaysia
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