An Exploration of the Relationships between Emotional Well-Being, Learning Behaviour, and Academic Success in Postgraduate Students Who Combine Work with Study

Abstract

There is a growing demand for advanced education from mature learners who seek postgraduate qualifications whilst maintaining career and family responsibilities, but recent research has identified concerns regarding their well-being. This study assesses students’ emotional well-being and examines how well-being is associated with the way students learn and the grades they receive. In a survey of 206 part-time postgraduate students who worked for 30 or more hours a week, we assessed activated aspects of affective well-being (in the form of self-reported anxiety and enthusiasm), learning behaviour, and grades. We observed positive relationships between anxiety, enthusiasm, and learning behaviour and grades. Our results suggest that learning behaviour mediates the relationship between positively activated well-being (enthusiasm) and grades and that negatively activated emotional well-being (anxiety) moderates the effect of lifelong learning on grades. The implications for theory and practice are discussed.

Keywords

• mature students
• postgraduate
• well-being
• learning
• emotion