Reflecting on Students’ Emotions in Undergraduate Research: Humanizing Higher Education Experiences

Abstract

Higher Education (HE) teaching, learning and research require not only cognitive but also emotional commitment from all who are involved in those dialogic processes: the academic and the student. The focus of this chapter is on unexplored territory: emotions at play within undergraduate research (UR) outside the classroom, specifically experienced by students who are engaged in these opportunities for the first time. After reflecting on the problem and bringing together theoretical approaches related to this theme, the authors present a case study, drawing on qualitative data collected in two institutional contexts – one in the UK and other in Portugal. The data analysis leads us to create a framework that addresses the authors’ two research questions, concerning: the emotions that students experience when they are involved in an UR project, and the aspects of that experience the reported emotions relate to. This leads the authors to suggest some recommendations at the end, so they can move toward a more humanized HE experience. This chapter gives an original contribution to discussions on emotions in HE teaching, learning and research in general, and UR in particular.

Citation

Baptista, A. (2020), "Reflecting on Students’ Emotions in Undergraduate Research: Humanizing Higher Education Experiences", Sengupta, E., Blessinger, P. and Makhanya, M. (Ed.) Improving Classroom Engagement and International Development Programs: International Perspectives on Humanizing Higher Education (Innovations in Higher Education Teaching and Learning, Vol. 27), Emerald Publishing Limited, Leeds, pp. 15-31. https://doi.org/10.1108/S2055-364120200000027003