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TOPIC: The Effect of Emotional Intelligence And Perceived Stress on Academic

Performance Among The University of Swat Students

Subject: Group Research

Supervisor: Mam Rehana Siraj

Submitted by: Ahsan Ullah, Junaid Khan, Naser Nazeer, M. Asim, Mujeeb Ullah

Semester: 6th

Department of Psychological Studies

University of Swat

SUN, 26 June, 2022

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Table of contents

Abstract……………………………………………...………………………………………03

Introduction…………………………………...…………………………………………….03

Review of literature…………………….……………………...……………………………09

Rationale………………………………….………………….….…………………………..19

Objectives………………………………..…………………….….…………………………19

Hypothesis……………………………………………………….….……………………….20

Conceptual framework………………………………………….….………………………20

Operational definitions..........................................................................................................20

Methodology...........................................................................................................................22

Research design…………………………….……………………………………………….22

Sampling……………………………………………………………………………………..22

Inclusion criteria.................................................…………………………………………...22

Exclusion criteria....................................................................................................................22

Instruments………………………………………………………………………………….22

Procedure……………………………………………...…………………………………….22

Propose analysis…………………………….……………………………………………….23

Results……………………………………………………………………………………….23

Discussion……………………………………………………………………………………25

Conclusion………………………………...…………………………………………………26

Implications of study………………………………………………………………………..27

Suggestions / recommendations.....................................................................................…...27

References…………………………………………………...………………………………28
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Abstract

The aim of this study is to investigate the effect of emotional intelligence and perceived stress
on student’s participants of 18 to 30 years of age. The samples are considered of the students
of university of swat who fell into two scales (1) perceived stress scale, (2) emotional
intelligence scale. Results indicates that (a) emotional intelligence is positively correlated
with academic performance. (b) perceived stress is negatively correlated with academic
performance.

Introduction

We are living in the age of globalization where our traditional ways of living are in
transitional phase. Due to privatization, urbanization and liberalization, the youth is in a
dilemma where they find themselves unfit and unequipped. A rapid change in family life,
pressures of peers and society, today’s life style and academic challenges etc are the factors
where there is an increase in competition and stress. The youth is not able to cope up with the
negative emotions which have become a stigma of their life. Thus, the ability to control the
emotions has become important for not carried away by the flow of negative and evil
elements. A high emotional intelligence helps to maintain a state of harmony in oneself and
finally be more self-confident in dealing with the challenges of living and learning in
educational institutions. Emotional Intelligence is a cross-section of interrelated emotional
and social competencies, skills and facilitators that determine how effectively we understand
and express ourselves, understand others and relate with them, and cope with daily demands
and pressures (Bar-On, 2006).

The term emotional intelligence was first described by Salovey and Mayer (1990) as a form
of social intelligence that involves the ability to monitor one’s own and others’ feelings and
emotions, to discriminate among them, and to use this information to guide one’s thinking
and action. It was made popular by Goleman (1995) who refers to it as the ability to sense,
understand, value and effectively apply the power and acumen of emotions as a source of
human energy, information, trust, creativity and influence. Since then, the general notion of
emotional intelligence became widely known, appearing in magazine and newspaper articles
(Bennetts, 1996; Peterson, 1997), and popular books (Cooper & Sawaf, 1997; Gottman &
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DeClaire, 1997). Presently, the academic concept of emotional intelligence has been
developed through several theoretical models and frameworks (Barchard 2001; Mayer et al.,
2003; Peterson & Seligman 2004) and is based on a growing body of relevant research
(Fischer et al., 2004; Katyal & Awasthi 2005; Mizra & Redzuan 2010; Simon & Nath, 2004).
It is that part of the human spirit which motivates us to perform, which gives us energy to
demonstrate behaviours such as intentionality, persistence, creativity, impulse control, social
deftness, compassion, intuition and integrity (Kapp, 2002). Lam and Kirby (2002) are of the
opinion that emotional intelligence involves perceiving, understanding, and regulating
emotions. High emotional intelligence can contribute to a student in the learning process
(Goleman, 1996; Elias, Ubriaco, Reese et al., 1992, Svetlana, 2007). Students low on
emotional intelligence may find failure more difficult to deal with, which undermines their
academic motivation (Drago, 2004). Academic motivation is defined as enthusiasm for
academic achievement which involves the degree to which students possess certain specific
behavioural characteristics related to motivation (Hwang et al, 2002).

For many years educators, professionals and the public alike have been focusing on the
intellectual achievement of individuals. In the past, perceived cognitive potential, more than
any other factor has been seen as a predictor of academic achievement. It has, however, been
established that despite an individual having the intellectual potential to succeed at
institutions of higher education, he/she may experience difficulty dealing with emotional
issues, have poor relationships, and be ineffective in his/her decision making
(Goleman,1995). These observations, among others, have led to the realization that
individuals from changing populations may require more than intellectual abilities to exist
and thrive academically.

All students experience frustration and failure to achieve their goals. They depend on the
strength of fortitude to control their negative thoughts and feelings. If they are able to control
emotions, they will achieve the academic goals as well (Dweck, 1996).

The literature suggests that emotional intelligence plays a key role in determining success in
life and it becomes more and more important as people progress up the career ladder (Kolb &
Hanley-Maxwell, 2003; Richburg & Fletcher, 2002). Goleman (1995) argues that emotional
intelligence, social intelligence, and luck also play a big role in a person's success. While IQ
gets you hired, emotional, EQ gets you promoted. Research has shown that what separates
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successful people from less successful counterparts is not necessarily IQ but rather EQ, with
key skills to success more likely to found in the latter rather than the former.

Emotional intelligence and academic achievement among university students

Nasir and Masur (2010) assert that effective learning takes place when students develop an
understanding of how to learn and this understanding requires such emotional skills as
confidence, self-control, the ability to communicate and cooperate with others. They found
that emotional intelligence significantly predicted academic achievement among the 132
students in different departments at the International Islamic University, Islamabad, Pakistan.
In an earlier investigation by Rozell, Pettijohn, and Parker (2002), a significant relationship
was found between emotional intelligence and the academic achievement of undergraduate
students at Mid-Western University in the USA. Similarly among 246 Pakistan adolescents,
Farooq (2003) reported that students with high emotional intelligence showed better
academic performance than students with low emotional intelligence. A similar finding
among Nigerian university students by Adeyemo (2007) also showed significant correlations
between emotional intelligence and academic self-efficacy with academic achievement, while
Sünbül and Aslan (2008) reported a similar relationship between emotional intelligence and
academic achievement among 312 Education students in Konya, Turkey.

Since the publication of Goleman’s (1995) first book (Emotional Intelligence: Why it can
matter more than IQ?), the concept of EI became one of the most important and widely
spread concepts among academic institutions. Soon seminars, workshops and training
programs and studies were conducted on this new concept as well as other scientific activities
accompanying every new theory. This trend continued until scholars became convinced that
the success and happiness of a person do not only depend on his emotional intelligence, but
also on the need for other skills which they later called Emotional Intelligence, which is
considered by many as being essential for successful living, and start building from infancy
(Goleman, 1995).

According to Mayer & Salovey (1990), emotional intelligence involves abilities that may be
categorized in five domains:

1. Self-awareness: observing oneself and recognizing a feeling as it happens.

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2. Managing emotions: handling feelings so that they are appropriate; realizing what is
behind a feeling; finding ways to handle fears and anxieties, anger, and sadness.

3. Motivating oneself: channelling emotions in the service of a goal; emotional self-control;

dealing gratification and stifling impulses.

4. Empathy: sensitivity to others’ feeling and concerns and taking their perspective,
appreciating the difference in how people feel about things.

5. Handling relationship: managing emotions in others; social competence and social skills.

To sum up, Emotional Intelligence is considered a relatively recent concept which caught the
attention of many scholars who stressed that success in social or professional life does not
rely on individual’s intellectual abilities (Intellectual Intelligence), but it depends on the
abilities an individual has; it was agreed to call these abilities Emotional Intelligence.
Intellectual abilities are not sufficient to guarantee the success of the individual in different
life spheres. IQ constitutes (20%) of the factors which determine the individual’s success in
life, and it leaves a space of (80%) for other factors, most of which are Emotional Intelligence
skills (Goleman, 2009).

Emotional intelligence in context

Intrinsic to the four-branch model of emotional intelligence is the idea that these skills cannot
exist outside of the social context in which they operate. In order to use these skills, one must
be aware of what is considered appropriate behaviour by the people with whom one interacts.
This point is central to our discussion of how to measure emotional intelligence. We consider
the role of emotional intelligence in personality to be similar to that played by traditional,
analytic intelligence. Specifically, emotional intelligence is a set of interrelated skills that
allows people to process emotionally relevant information efficiently and accurately (Mayer,
Caruso, & Salovey, 1999). Although emotional intelligence correlates to some extent with
tests that measure verbal abilities, it overlaps only modestly with standard measures of
personality such as those organized by the Big Five personality traits: openness to experience,
conscientiousness, extroversion, agreeableness, and neuroticism. Our conceptualization
therefore defines emotional intelligence as a set of skills or competencies rather than
personality traits. Whether these skills as a whole operate similarly in every social context is
a question requiring further research. It is possible that people may differ in emotional
intelligence for different kinds of emotions or that some individuals are better able to harness
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their emotional intelligence in social or other situations. These sorts of contextual questions
require much more investigation. As noted earlier, one of the primary purposes in proposing a
model of emotional intelligence was to provide a framework for investigators exploring
individual differences in the processing of emotion-relevant information. In recent years, a
number of researchers have made important discoveries suggesting places to look for such
differences. For example, positive emotions can temporarily broaden a person's repertoire of
thoughts, leading to creative problem solving (Frederickson, 1998). People vary in their
abilities to differentiate their emotions; that is, some people can recognize fine-grained
distinctions in what they are feeling (e.g., "I feel angry and guilty, and a little bit sad too"),
whereas other people can only recognize their feelings in a vague way (e.g., "I feel bad";
Barrett, Gross, Christensen, & Benvenuto, 2001). In addition, sharing traumatic personal
experiences can often help people achieve emotional closure, leading to better long-term
emotional and physical health (Pennebaker, 1997). Based on the four-branch model of
emotional intelligence, we can interpret Frederickson's work as important to branch two,
using emotions. Furthermore, Barrett et al.'s (2001) research on emotional differentiation
relates to the third branch of emotional intelligence, understanding emotions. Pennebaker's
(1997) findings tie in nicely with the fourth branch, managing emotions. Emotional
intelligence provides an organizing heuristic that helps us to understand the relationships
among reported findings and guides directions for future research.

Perceived academic stress

Stress arises when there are burden on the person which exceed his available assets. If stress
is harsh and extended, it can lessen academic performance, hinder with a student’s Capability
to involve in and add to campus life, and raise the probability of substance abuse and other
potentially destructive behaviours (Richlin-Klonsky & Hoe, 2003).

Researchers (Vermunt & Steensman, 2005; Topper, 2007; Malach-Pines & Keinan, 2007)
have defined stress as the insight of incongruity between environmental burden (stressors)
and person’s ability to fulfil these demands.

Academic stress is defined as that generated by the proper demands in an academic context
along with an individual recognition about spending sufficient time to achieve that context.
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Researchers usually define stress as the undesirable response people have to extreme strain or
other sort of burden placed on them. Stress occurs when a person deal with a situation that
they recognize as irresistible and cannot manage. Academic stress refers to the unpleasant
situations that occur due to the many demands made on the students or learners in the form of
examinations, maintaining healthy and academic lives, competing with peers, meeting the
academic expectations of teachers and parents as well as own academic expectations. Bisht
(as cited in Lal,2014), defined academic stress as demands related to academics that tax or
exceed the available resources (internal and external) as cognitively viewed by the student
involved. According to her, academic stress reflects perceptions of an individual’s academic
frustration, academic conflict, academic pressure and academic anxiety. Bisht further defined
the four components of academic stress as follows: academic frustration is a state of harm of
some academic goals, academic conflict results from two or more incompatible responses to
academic goals, academic pressure occurs when a student is under heavy demand of time and
energy to meet academic goals and academic anxiety is an expression of apprehension of
harm to academic goals. When educational goals are perceived as challenging stress arises
and creates a sense of competence thus enhancing learning capability. On the other hand,
perceptions of educational goals as a threat brings stress which creates a feeling of
hopelessness leading to lower academic achievement.

Stress is an unavoidable phenomenon in students’ lives. In the academic setting, stress can
arise from both academic and non-academic factors. These include socio-cultural and
psychological attributes. Sources of stress in the academic setting may include difficulty with
coping with a new environment, nature of as well as workload of course of study, relationship
with other students, parental and teachers’ expectations of students as well as own
expectation of academic performance. Stress can have either a positive or negative effect on a
student’s academic performance depending on the severity. Minimal levels of stress can
result in positive outcomes such as motivation and improved task performance while severe
stress can result in anxiety, depression, and social dysfunctions. High levels of stress
associated with poor academic performance (Sohail, 2013). Low stress however, may not
necessarily result in good performance as under the circumstances, some students may
perceive the task at hand as unchallenging and may easily get bored (Uchil, 2017). This may
lead to poor academic performance. Stress affects students learning and academic
performance negatively. As it can lead to anxiety, sleep problems and interpersonal conflicts.
Majority of students with stress reported poor self-esteem and high depression (Baste &
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Gadkari, 2014 ). Stress has been linked to indulgence in risky behaviour such as alcohol and
other drugs consumption, unprotected sex, physical inactivity, poor eating and sleeping
patterns among students (King, Vidowel & Sigh, 2014; Bennett & Holloway,2014 ) Also
reported in students with academic stress are depression, anxiety, behavioural problems
among other negative manifestations (Deb, Stoudl & Sun,2015). In the same vein, fears of
failure and negative evaluation of the future have been linked to incidences of depression
which result from stress.

Review of literature

One study by Bellanger, Smith, Lewis, Harrington, & Kasper, (2007), measured over
600undergraduates’ survey responses at 20 US institutions on how effectively students in
computer science and information systems managed stressful situations. Researchers then
compared it with students’ levels of EI. In this study, EI was defined as the ability to
perceive, assess, and positively influence personal and others' emotions. The effects of these
intrapersonal factors were then compared with student grades. The researchers concluded that
although students' EIwas not directly related to academic success, higher levels of EI
positively correlated with self-efficacy. This was defined as self-confidence and ability to
handle problems or challenges effectively. Self-efficacy was linked to increased academic
performance. Further research is necessary to determine whether EI is a good predictor of
success or failure in computing studies and careers (Smith & Belanger, in press).

Another study by Lam and Kirby, (2002) measured the correlation between EI and individual
performance in an undergraduate student population. EI was measured by the Multifactor
Emotional Intelligence Scale (MEIS) developed by Schutte et al. (1998) and general
intelligence was measured by the Shipley Institute of Living IQ in 304 undergraduate
students in a U.S. university. Researchers determined that EI did significantly contribute
(p<0.01) to individual cognitive-based performance beyond the level attributed solely to
general intelligence. However, researchers cautioned the ability to generalize the results of
the study and suggested further research is needed.

Carrothers, Stanford and Gallagher (2000) piloted a trial of an EI assessment that was used on
applicants at three consortium medical schools. ACT scores and GPA were not highly
correlated with the assessment. However, interview assessment scores were correlated with
the EI scores (R2=0.761). Gender comparisons revealed that female EI scores were higher
(f=189.2,m=176.5) when compared to male scores. Researchers also concluded from the pilot
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study data, that the instrument did indeed measure attributes that suggest desirable personal
and interpersonal skills in medical school applicants. Researchers suggest that further studies
must be completed to further establish validity and reliability of the instrument. Researchers
also suggest that further research should be completed to see if the instrument may be
effective in predicting medical school performance.

Stewart, et al (1997) investigated depression and anxiety in first year medical students. A
repeated measures design was used with a sample of 121 medical students (81% of the class).
The students completed two surveys, one prior to the start of the first semester and the second
approximately 8 months into the first year of medical school. Researchers found an increased
concern about curriculum and environment, personal competence and endurance, and time to
have a life outside medical school. The increase in these concerns correlated with an increase
in depression and anxiety. Researchers also found use of avoidant coping strategies and low
dispositional optimism resulted in increased depression and anxiety. However, on the end of
year survey, it was found that active coping strategies and positive reinterpretation of events
resulted in decreased depression and anxiety. These findings suggest early identification and
intervention to understand the potential stress of medical school can be beneficial to students.
If students learn to identify active coping and avoidant coping tendencies it may be helpful in
reducing or preventing distress.

Stewart, et al (1999) completed a follow up study to the repeated measures survey

investigating depression and anxiety in first year medical students (Stewart, et al., 1997). This
study further investigated the relationship of depression and anxiety on academic
performance. Researchers compared the findings of the previous study with premedical
academic scores and grades over the first 2 years of medical school. Researchers found pre-
medical-school academic performance was a strong predictor of medical school academic
performance. Overall academic performance prior to and during the first two years of medical
school was negatively correlated with reported stress levels. In addition modest negative
correlations were found between self-reported coping strategies of 'humour' and 'wishful
thinking' and academic performance.

One study by Pau and Croucher (2003) investigated the relationship between EI and the
ability to cope with perceived stress in a sample 213 of undergraduate dental school students.
EI was measured using a validated scale Multifactor Emotional Intelligence Scale (MEIS)
developed by Schutte et al. (1998). Perceived stress was measured by Cohen’s Perceived
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Stress Scales (PSS- 10). Researchers found that EI scores were inversely related to perceived
stress scores. Researchers concluded that dental students with higher levels of EI may be
better equipped to deal positively with perceived stress in both academic and non-academic
arenas. Researchers suggest that improving EI of dental students may also improve ability to
cope with stress.

Pau, Croucher, Sohanpal, Muirhead and Seymour, (2004) completed a qualitative follow-up
study to identify how dental students with high and low EI differed in dealing with stress.
The researchers found that students with ratings in the high EI group were more apt to utilize
reflection and appraisal, social and intrapersonal, and organization and time-management
skills. Students with ratings in the low EI group were more apt to rely on unhealthy
behaviours such as procrastination, social withdrawal, or use of tobacco products. Again,
researchers suggest additional research in focused on improving EI in dental students would
also increase ability to cope with stress. To further assess the relationship between EI and
perceived stress, a multinational survey was completed including dental schools in seven
countries (Pau, et al., 2007). The total participants included 596 dental undergraduate
students. The study found that females, younger students, those without previous graduate
education experience, and those not satisfied with their decision to study dentistry were more
likely to report perceived stress when compared to their counterparts with females reporting
higher levels of perceived stress compared to males. The study also found a significant
inverse relationship between EI and perceived stress. The significant predictors include
gender, previous higher education qualification and lack of satisfaction with the decision to
enter dental school. Researchers concluded that a distinct inverse relationship exists between
EI and perceived stress across sociocultural and academic contexts of undergraduate dental
school.

A person's perceptions play a substantial role in what some may call objectively stressful
events (Lazarus 1966, 1977). According to Lazarus (1966, 1977), behavior is a function of
the interaction between the person and his or her environment and the appraisal of potentially
threatening or challenging events. The causal event is the cognitively mediated emotional
response to the objective event and not the objective event itself. An important characteristic
of stress that this definition highlights is that it can be either positive or negative. For
example, a college student making the Dean's list can be considered a positive side of stress
while a college student being placed on academic probation can be considered a negative side
of stress.
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Most studies therefore use perceived stress as opposed to objective stress. Mendoza's (1981)
research on perceptions of stress of college students defined four dimensions of stress
(academic, financial, familial, and personal) that were comparable to the three dimensions of
stress (academic, environmental, and family / monetary) identified more recently by Rocha-
Singh (1994). This study uses the three dimensions of perceived stress as operationalized by
Rocha-Singh (1994) as the measurement of college students stress.

Theoretical linkages between emotional intelligence and academic performance

There is an international concern on academic performance of students (Romerhausen, 2013).

Globally and Nigeria in particular, improving the quality of education and investment on
educational and human resources are regarded as effective factors paving the way for a
country’s pervasive development. Improvement of students’ academic performance is also
among the basic goals of educational planning. And it’s through academic performance that
students can fully actualize their talents and capabilities in line with educational goals.
Notably, academic performance is considered as one important criteria of educational quality.
Therefore, without doubt academic performance presently is a major issue among students,
teachers, parents, school administrators, and the community at large. Researchers have made
several attempts to unravel the complexities surrounding academic performance (Ikpi, Enya
& Johnny, 2014). For example, psychology researchers have put forward a lot of reasons why
disparities in achievement among young people exist (Ikpi . 2014). As noted by these
researchers, a lot of attention had been paid to external factors such as type of school,
teaching methods, school location, instructional materials, quality of lecturers and their
experience.

Academic performance is considered an intellectual competence indicator. Opinions vary as

to why some students excel academically while others appear to be underachievers. As a
result, many psychologists have consistently attempted to identify the major predictors of
individual academic performance. Academic performance on examinations is the result of
interactions among multiple variables such as learning. Learning occupies a significant role
in the life of students (Mangal, Mangal 2009). It means modification of behaviour (Dutt,
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2007) that is measured using the yardstick of academic performance. People have different
learning styles that are reflected in different academic strengths, weaknesses, skills, and
interests. It has often been asserted that academic performance can be explained largely by
factors such as individual initiative effort and merit (Timothy, Kammeye ,2007).

Although education is not the only road to success in the working world, much effort is
made to identify, evaluate, track and encourage the progress of students in schools (Bell,
2017). Parents care about their child's academic performance because they believe good
academic results will provide more career choices and job security (Bell, 2017). Similarly,
schools invested in fostering good academic habits for the same reason. For example they
often influence concerns about school's reputation and the possibility of monetary aid from
government institutions, which shows the overall academic performance of the school.

In the past, academic performance of secondary school students was not measured using the
present form of using numerical method. Teachers' observations made up the bulk of the
assessment, and today's summation, or numerical, method of determining how well a student
is performing is a fairly recent invention. Grading systems came into existence in the United
States in the late Victorian period and were initially criticized due to high subjectivity.
However, performance results also allow students to be ranked and sorted on a scale that is
numerically obvious, minimizing complaints by holding teachers and schools accountable for
the components of every grade.

Academic performance for some researchers is defined by students’ reporting of past

semester CGPA/GPA and their expected GPA for the current semester. The grade point
average or GPA is now used by most of the tertiary institutions as a convenient summary
measure of the academic performance of their students. The GPA is a better measurement
because it provides a greater insight into the relative level of performance of individuals and
different group of students. academic performance is the extent to which a student has
achieved their short or long-term educational goals (Ward, Stoker, & Murray-Ward 1996).
Cumulative Gpa and completion of educational degrees such as High School and bachelor's
degrees represent academic performance.

Academic performance is commonly measured through examinations or continuous

assessments but there is no general agreement on how it is best evaluated or which aspects
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are most important procedural knowledges such as skills or declarative knowledge such
as facts (Bhagat 2013) . furthermore, there are inconclusive results over which individual
factors successfully predict academic performance, elements such as test anxiety,
environment, motivation, and emotions require consideration when developing models of
school performance (Mosche, 1998). But individual differences in academic performance
have been linked to differences in intelligence and personality (Sophie, Benedikt, Tomas
2011).

Students with higher mental ability as demonstrated by IQ tests and those who are higher in
conscientiousness (linked to effort and achievement motivation) tend to achieve highly in
academic settings. A recent meta-analysis suggested that mental curiosity (as measured by
typical intellectual engagement) has an important influence on academic achievement in
addition to intelligence and conscientiousness (Sophie, Benedikt, & Tomas 2011).

Cognitive factors or learning factors are the extent to which a person’s individual capabilities
can influence their academic or learning performance. These factors include cognitive
functions like attention, memory, and reasoning. Undergraduate students with high academic
performance present mature learning beliefs, and a strong knowledge integration (Brenda
2014). Research has also found that students with higher academic performance, motivation
and persistence use intrinsic goals rather than extrinsic ones (Lesli, Ingrid 2013).
Furthermore, students who are motivated to improve upon their previous or upcoming
performance tend to perform better academically than peers with lower motivation (Barry,
Rhonda 2011). In other words, students with higher need for achievement have greater
academic performance.

Personality is the sum total of the behavioural and mental characteristics that are distinctive
of an individual (Colamn, 2009). It refers to individuals’ unique and relatively stable patterns
of behaviour, thoughts and feelings (Baron, 2006). The nature of individuals varies, the
personality of the individuals too varies and this is the law of nature and this varying nature
has a tremendous impact on making life a success or a failure, including the life of the
students.
Academic performance criteria differ substantially and may have conflicting relationships
with the independent variable, personality types (Trapmann et al., 2007, Clark and Schroth,
2010; Komarraju & Karau, 2005). Extraversion (type A personality) and introversion (type B
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personality) factors may relate in different ways to performance, given different aspects of it
(Komarraju & Karau, 2005).

The EI literature has shown that individuals with a higher capacity to process information
typically perform better on cognitive tasks (Saklofske et al., 2012). Interpersonal and
intrapersonal skills are of great importance in secondary education, since it is a period that
involves many social, contextual, and personal changes and stresses. During adolescence, the
peer group is of great relevance to adolescents' emotional development and identity formation
(Duncan et al., 2006; Eccles and Roeser, 2009), with immediate contexts such as the school
environment being one of the most relevant (Monreal and Guitart, 2012). In this sense, the
events and early experiences lived in the different contexts, the reactions and responses of
adolescents to the different situations of risk and stress throughout their development, as well
as the existence of resource vulnerability protection, are relevant and important to
understanding individual differences between young people (Monreal and Guitart, 2012).
Greater emotional regulation and a better process of adaptability are useful to cope with
academic stress and achieve academic success (Saklofske et al., 2012). Interestingly,
emotional perceptive people appear to be more strongly impacted by stress than their less
perceptive counterparts, expressing higher levels of psychological distress (Ciarrochi et al.,
2002). It is hypothesized that low perceptive people might ignore thoughts of daily hassles
and therefore might be more likely to be confused about the experienced negative feelings
showing less coherence between their levels of perceived stress and psychological
maladjustment. Thus, people with high EI are more resilient, adapting more easily to
changes, reacting better under stress conditions, and coping with difficulties in the form of
challenges (Schneider et al., 2013). Finally, students with a better management of their
emotions are happier and have better social relationships (Eryilmaz, 2011). In turn, having
better interpersonal management is generally associated with higher social networks, as well
as better friendships quality (Brackett et al., 2005). Similarly, having a greater social network
in a classroom might stimulate an adequate social environment for better cooperative work,
better group learning, greater support from classmates (Hogan et al., 2010), and better
relationships with teachers (Di Fabio and Kenny, 2015). Together, both the academic climate
involving classmates and professors, as well as a better predisposition of learning-oriented
abilities might be associated with a greater AP (Brackett et al., 2011; Johnson, 2016). In
summary, there are several plausible theoretical mechanisms that might explain the
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relationship between EI as a set of skills and optimal academic functioning in secondary

education.

Theory of academic performance

The theory of academic performance was developed by Elger (2007). The theory emphasizes
six foundational concepts to form a framework that can be used to explain performance as
well as performance improvements. To perform is to produce valued results. A performer can
be an individual or a group of people engaging in a collaborative effort. Developing
performance is a journey, and level of performance describes location in the journey. Current
level of performance depends holistically on six components: context, level of knowledge,
levels of skills, level of identity, personal factors, and fixed factors. Three axioms are
proposed for effective performance improvements. These involve a performer’s mindset,
immersion in an enriching environment, and engagement in reflective practice.
The theory of performance is a challenge to educators: by improving our own performance,
we empower ourselves to help others learn and grow. As advocated by Harvard’s Project
Zero, performance is closely related to learning-for-understanding (Wiske, 1998). When
people learn and grow, they are empowered to create results that make a difference. Working
and learning together in ways that make the world better has been a primary goal of higher
education throughout the ages.

Walberg's theory of educational productivity

Walberg's (1981) theory of educational productivity, is one of the few empirically tested
theories of school learning based on an extensive review and integration of over 3,000 studies
(DiPerna, Volpe & Stephen, 2002). Wang, Haertel, and Walberg (1997) analyzed the
content of 179 handbook chapters and reviews and 91 research syntheses and surveyed
educational researchers in an effort to achieve some consensus regarding the most significant
influences on learning (Greenberg et al., 2003). Using a variety of methods, Wang, et al.
(1977) identified 28 categories of learning influence. Of the 11 most influential domains of
variables, eight involved social-emotional influences: classroom management, parental
support, student- teacher interactions, social- behavioral attributes, motivational- effective
attributes, the peer group, school culture, and classroom climate (Greenberg et al., 2003).
Distant background influences (e.g., state, district, or school policies, organizational
 17

characteristics, curriculum, and instruction) were less influential. Wang et al. (1997)
concluded that "the direct intervention in the psychological determinants of learning promise
the most effective avenues for reform" (p. 210).

Wang et al.’s research review targeted student learning characteristics (i.e., social, behavioral,
motivational, affective, cognitive, and metacognitive) as the set of variables with the most
potential for modification that could, in turn, significantly and positively affect student
outcomes (DiPerna et al., 2002).

More recently, Zins, Weissberg, Wang and Walberg, (2004) demonstrated the importance of
the domains of motivational orientations, self-regulated learning strategies, and
social/interpersonal abilities in facilitating academic performance. Zins et al. reported, based
on the large-scale implementation of a social-emotional learning (SEL) program, that
students who became more self-aware and confident regarding their learning abilities, who
were more motivated, who set learning goals, and who were organized in their approach to
work (self- regulated learning) performed better in school. According to Greenberg,
Weissberg, O'Brien, Zins, Fredericks, Resnick, & Elias, (2003), Zins et al. (2004) research
linking social, emotional, and academic factors are sufficiently strong to advance the new
term social, emotional, and academic learning (SEAL). A central challenge for researchers,
educators, and policymakers is to strengthen this connection through coordinated multiyear
programming.

Walberg and associates’ conclusions resonate with findings from other fields. For example,
the "resilience" literature (Garmezy, 1993) grew from the observation that despite living in
disadvantaged and risky environments, certain children overcame and attain high levels of
achievement, motivation, and performance (Gutman, Sameroff & Eccles, 2002). Wach’s
(2000) review of biological, social, and psychological factors suggested that no single factor
could explain “how” and “why” these resilient children had been inoculated from the
deleterious effects of their day- to-day environments. A variety of promotive (direct) and
protective (interactive) variables were suggested, which included, aside from cognitive
abilities, such conative characteristics as study habits, social abilities, and the absence of
behaviour problems (Guttman et al., 2003).
 18

Haertel, Walberg, and Weinstein (1983) identified eight major models of school learning that
are either based on psychological learning theory (Glaser, 1976) or time-based models of
learning (Bennett, 1978). Despite variations in names of constructs, Haertel et al. (1983)
found that most of the eight theories included variables representing ability, motivation,
quality of instruction, and quantity of instruction. Constructs less represented in the models
were social environment of the classroom, home environment, peer influence, and mass
media (Watson & Keith, 2002). Haertel et al.’s (1983) review of theories, multiple
quantitative syntheses of classroom research, and secondary data analyses of large- scale
national surveys (Reynolds & Walberg, 1992), generally support Walberg's global model of
educational productivity. Walberg’s model specifies that:

Classroom learning is a multiplicative, diminishing-returns function of four essential factors

—student ability and motivation, and quality and quantity of instruction—and possibly four
supplementary or supportive factors—the social psychological environment of the classroom,
education-stimulating conditions in the home and peer group, and exposure to mass media.
Each of the essential factors appears to be necessary but insufficient by itself for classroom
learning; that is, all four of these factors appear required at least at minimum level (Haertel et
al., 1983).

An important finding of the Walberg et al. (1986) large scale causal modelling research was
that nine different educational productivity factors were hypothesized to operate vis- à-vis a
complex set of interactions to account for school learning. Additionally, some student
characteristic variables (motivation, prior achievement, attitudes) had indirect effects (e.g.,
the influence of the variable “went through” or was mediated via another variable).

The importance of the Walberg et al. group’s findings cannot be overstated. Walberg’s
(1981) theory of educational productivity is one of the few empirically tested theories of
school learning and is based on the review and integration of over 3,000 studies (DiPerna et
al., 2002). Walberg et al. (1986) have identified key variables that effect student outcomes:
student ability/prior achievement, motivation, age/developmental level, quantity of
instruction, quality of instruction, classroom climate, home environment, peer group, and
exposure to mass media outside of school (Walberg, Fraser & Welch, 1986). In the current
context, the first three variables (ability, motivation, and age) reflect characteristics of the
student. The fourth and fifth variables reflect instruction (quantity and quality), and the final
 19

four variables (classroom climate, home environment, peer group, and exposure to media)
represent aspects of the psychological environment (DiPerna et al., 2002). More recently,
Wang, Haertel, and Walberg (1993) organized the relevant school learning knowledge base
into major construct domains (State & District Governance &Organization, Home &
Community Contexts, School Demographics, Culture, Climate, Policies &Practices, Design
& Delivery of Curriculum & Instruction, Classroom Practices, Learner Characteristics) and
attempted to establish the relative importance of 228 variables in predicting academic
domains. Using a variety of methods, the authors concluded that psychological, instructional,
and home environment characteristics (“proximal” variables) have a more significant impact
on achievement than variables such as state-, district-, or school-level policy and
demographics (“distal”variables). More importantly, in the context of the current document,
student characteristics (i.e., social, behavioural, motivational, affective, cognitive,
metacognitive) were the set of proximal variables with the most significant impact on learner
outcomes (DiPerna et al., 2002).

Rationale

Previous researches has shown that higher Emotional Intelligence is associated with better
academic and work performance. The one study on the undergraduate students showed that
undergraduate students experienced moderate levels of stress. The medical students had the
highest stress level among the students. Moreover, findings showed that the first-year
students had low stress level. Most sources of stress were from students’ academic. It was
also found that there is a significant but weak negative relationship between undergraduate
students’ stress level and their academic achievement. In a recent study, Roy et al. (2013),
found a positive relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement
motivation. Preeti’s findings (2013) revealed that academic achievement without emotional
intelligence does not indicate future success; and absence of emotional intelligence also
indicates the weak personality and ability to build relations at places of work as well in
schools; and it is highly important for quality education.

The present study intended to explore the relationship between Emotional Intelligence,
Perceived stress and Academic Performance. The present study aims to evaluate the
relationship between Emotional Intelligence and academic performance among University of
swat undergraduates. Furthermore, stress during graduation is an increasingly being reported
in literature. This can result in numerous negative effects on undergraduate graduate students
 20

and their disorder related to stress and performance detoriation. Hence, we also aim to
explore the relationship between perceived stress Emotional Intelligence and academic
performance on the basis of CGPA or GPA.

The overall purpose of this research is to explore the effects of emotional intelligence and
perceived stress on academic performance of the University of Swat undergraduate students.
This study will carryout to investigate the effects of emotional intelligence and perceived
stress on academic performance of UOS students.

Objective

The main objective of this research is to investigate the emotional intelligence, perceived
stress and academic achievement of undergraduate students in University of swat. In specific,
this research aims:

1) To determine the emotional intelligence of University of swat students

2) To determine the perceived stress of undergraduate students from different degree
programs.
3) To find the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic performance
4) To find the relationship between perceived stress and academic performance

Hypotheses

The following hypotheses are formulated in order to meet the objectives of the study.

 Emotional intelligence is positively correlated with academic performance

 Perceived stress is negatively correlated with academic performance

Conceptual framework

Simple moderation model

Outcomes
Predictor
Low or High
CGPA/GPA
1. E.I
(DV) 2. PS
(IV)
DV
 21

Operational Definitions

Variable have following operational definitions

 Stress....... Stress is the feeling of being overwhelmed or unable to cope with mental
or emotional pressure.
 Perceived stress..... Perceived stress is the feelings or thoughts that an individual has
about how much stress they are under at a given point in time or over a given time
period.
 Emotional Intelligence....... The ability to perceive, control, and evaluate emotions.
 GPA/ CGPA.............. GPA is a number that indicates your score on an average.
CGPA stands for Cumulative Grade Point Average. It is usually used to measure the
overall academic performance of a student.
 Academic Performance....... Academic performance is the outcome of students'
effort in examinations. Students' academic performance is determined by a number of
factors (Eze et al. 2016).
 Undergraduates..... University student who has not yet taken a first degree. Age
range from 18 to 30 years.
 22

Methodology

Research design

A quantitative cross-sectional design was carried out in order to establish the extent of the
relationship between two or more variable using statistical data. In this study the predictor
variable was academic performance and the criterion variables were perceived stress and
emotional intelligence.

Sampling

150 sample will be collected from University of Swat. A convenience sample of participant’s
male-female will be collected in the current study. It was required that all the participants
were over the age of 18 to 30

Participation in this study are completely voluntary and no incentives are offered to take part.

Inclusion Criteria

Participants having age range 18-30 will be included.

Exclusion Criteria

Age range lesser than 18 and range greater than 30 will be excluded.

Instruments

Scale:
 23

For this research we take 2 scales for our variables which are perceived stress scale and
emotional intelligence. For perceived stress we take standard scale of perceived stress scale
from internet which is S. Cohen & G. Williamson, 1988, perceived stress scale and for
emotional intelligence we take standard scale of Schutte Self-Report Emotional Intelligence
Test (SSEIT).

Procedure

Firstly, before participants could be gathered for this study its approval was shot and gained.
Participation in this study was completely voluntary, confidential, and anonymous. It is also
specified to the participants that the data was identified and as a result they would never be
able to withdraw their data. Participants were asked in order to determine the level of
perceived stress and then the emotional intelligence.

Proposed Analysis

SPSS Analysis will be carried out on the collected data

Correlation will be checked and one way Anova method will be used.

Results

This chapter consist of findings in line with the objectives of the study and hypothesis
generated after review of relevant literature. The data presented include both descriptive
statistics about the respondents, that is bio data and inferential statistics.

Respondents were required to indicate their department, semester, CGPA/ GPA, age, gender.

The results were obtained and computed into frequencies and percentage as shown in table
below;

Table 1:

Item Response Frequency (n=150) Percentage (%)

Gender Male 75 50
Female 75 50
Age 18 to 30 years 150 100
 24

Results in the table 1 shows that the respondent were 50% male’s whereas 50% were
Females, with equal ratio. All respondent were aged between 18-30 years.

Table 2:

Correlation between student emotional intelligent and CGPA/GPA

CGPA/GPA Emotional intelligence

of students
CGPA/GPA of students Pearson correlation 1 .91

.065
Sig: (1 tailed)

N 150 150

E. Intelligence Pearson correlation .91 1

Sig: (1 tailed) .065
N 150 150

On the basis of our data we concluded in the above table no.2, that there is strong correlation
r = 0.91 between CGPA/GPA of students and EI and it gives us significant value Sig 0.07
which we decides the acceptance of our hypothesis that there is strong positive correlation
between CGPA/GPA and EI at 5% level of significance.
 25

Table 3:

Correlation between students perceived stress and CGPA/GPA

CGPA/GPA Perceived stress

of students
CGPA/GPA of students Pearson correlation 1 -.74

.065
Sig: (1 tailed)

N 150 150

Perceived stress Pearson correlation .91 1

Sig: (1 tailed) .065
N 150 150

The second hypothesis stated that there is negative correlation between perceived stress and
academic performance of students. The above table No.3 shows the results about the
CGPA/GPA and perceived stress. We see that there is negative correlation r = -0.74 between
the CGPA/GPA and perceived stress, also we conclude through significant value 0.10 that
 26

there is insignificant negative correlation between CGPA/GPA and perceived stress at P

value 0.05.

Discussion

This section is intended to discuss the results that were obtained, what they meant and
whether they correlate with what was hypothesized.

It was hypothesized that there is significant relationship between emotional intelligence,

perceived stress, and CGPA/ GPA of students.

Findings showed that P value for emotional intelligence and perceived stress is 0.07 and 0.10
respectively. Therefore, the hypothesis was retained and hence the conclusion was made that
there is indeed a significant strong correlation between emotional intelligence and CGPA/
GPA of students, and insignificant negative correlation between perceived stress and CGPA/
GPA of students.

The first hypothesis was that emotionally intelligent students will score higher on EI than
those who had low emotional intelligence. From the statistical analysis of our data it is
proved that students who had higher EI will perform better in their academics.

The findings further agreed with the researcher that students with higher EI was associated
with better academic performance. In addition a higher EI was observed in those who had a
higher level of satisfaction. Self-perceived stress was lower in those with a higher EI, and
more perceived stress was associated with low academic performance (Ranasinghe et al,
2017).

The study also revealed that the positive impact of emotional intelligence on the academic
performance of students and also reflect that the emotional intelligence score of students are
strongly and positively associated with academic performance of students, this finding is
similar to the findings of most of the related literature (Fatum, et al, 2018).

Another hypothesis was that students who perceived stress more will score higher on the
perceived stress unlike those students who perceive less stress, and those who perceive stress
more, their academic performance will also be lower which we showed through statistical
results.

According to research study done by Safree, Yasin and Dzulkifli 2010 proved similar results.
They explored that anxiety, depression and stress are negatively correlated with academic
 27

performance of the students. Their study found that as stress goes higher, the academic
performance of the students goes down.

Conclusion

In regard to our research study that is relationship between emotional intelligence, perceived
stress and students academic performance among university of swat. Our main objectives
were; to examine the emotional intelligence and stress level of university of swat students and
their relationship with academic performance. We hypothesized that there is significant
relationship between emotional intelligence, perceived stress and academic performance of
students, this was proved right according to the research findings and therefore the hypothesis
retained. From the findings it was also proved that there is positive correlation between high
emotional intelligence and academic performance of students and negative correlation
between perceived stress and academic performance.

Implications of study

The present study revealed that emotional intelligence is strongly associated with academic
performance scores of students, thus, in classrooms situation emphasis should be given for
the increase of emotional intelligence through different approaches, which will ultimately
result higher academic performance among the students. So, the students should be
emotionally developed, which will result higher academic success in their life. The study of
emotional intelligence has implications for teachers, students and all the stakeholders of
education. In this present situation, there is need to develop emotional intelligence among
undergraduate students to a great extent. In addition, students need to be provided with an
environment in which they are less stressed and able to demonstrate their abilities.

Suggestions/ Recommendations

From the results of the present study, it is recommended that there is a great need to minimize
the academic stress and promote emotional intelligence of the undergraduate students
regarding their study and academic performance in the public sector universities in Pakistan.
To ensure gainful outcomes of educational undertakings, universities should focus on
students health and process of learning and assessment. The CGPA/ GPA of the students can
be improved much better in the public sector universities by increasing emotional intelligence
among them and minimizing their perceived stress.
 28

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