It has been the conventional wisdom in educational circles that a student’s success is to be found in cognitive ability and the rigour of his or her academic instruction. Yet developmental psychology would have one believe otherwise; a growing volume of research makes the case for an unbreakable connection between sound emotional development and any meaningful educational growth. Where institutions put compliance ahead of emotional maturation they are prone to see intellectual deficits where there is in fact emotional volatility or a disengagement of the mind, and in so doing neglect the psychological underpinnings of a more complete personal evolution .
We set out to chart the behavioural and psychological dynamics at play in this relationship with a mixed-methods longitudinal study of some 1,850 university students from varied higher education cohorts over a two-year period. The qualitative side of the work was informed by 90 semi-structured discussions held with developmental psychologists, student wellbeing directors and deans. Our multivariate modelling, which includes structural equation and Confirmatory Factor Analysis, shows reflective engagement and emotional regulation to be powerful positive predictors of ongoing educational growth (β = 0.87, p < 0.001) . The reverse is true of emotional volatility and cognitive disengagement, both of which have a pronounced suppressive effect on a student’s trajectory (β = -0.68, p < 0.01) . It is incumbent on higher education to make room for such emotional development in their pedagogical models.