Exploring Emotional Regulation and Metaevaluation through Student Reflections on Feedback in Higher Education

It is a widely acknowledged fact that higher education students are required to manage a multitude of challenging situations, including emotionally charged scenarios, academic stress, and personal growth. However, it is equally important to recognise that these students often lack sufficient tools with which to regulate their emotions and cognitive processes. The concept of emotion regulation is broad, encompassing all extrinsic and intrinsic processes that are responsible for the monitoring, evaluation, and modification of emotional reactions. This theory posits that changes occur not only in the intensity or duration of primary emotions, but also in related psychological processes such as memory and social interaction. In addition, regulation can target secondary emotions that reflect an individual's reactions to primary emotional experiences. The field of emotional education research in higher education has identified emotional intelligence as a pivotal factor in attaining professional success, academic achievement, and self-knowledge. It is needed to note that emotional regulation strategies must be adapted to individuals' characteristics and motivations, with regulatory processes becoming more intrinsic and deliberate as individuals mature. Recent studies have indicated that students often experience a wide range of emotions in evaluative and feedback situations, including exams and performance reviews. The emotional episodes that characterise this condition necessitate regulatory strategies that are often unconscious but nevertheless essential for effective feedback processing. The present study posits the hypothesis that reflective journaling can facilitate purposeful, internal emotional regulation, thereby supporting emotional intelligence and academic well-being. The study further proposes that feedback and evaluation methods should be emotionally conscious, and regulation oriented.