Emotion and cognition are two wings of the same bird: Insights into academic emotion regulation, critical thinking, self-efficacy beliefs, academic resilience, and academic engagement in Iranian EFL context

Abstract

Academic emotion regulation (AER), critical thinking (CT), self-efficacy belief (S-EB), academic resilience (AR), and academic engagement (AE) are all important factors for the success of university students, but their connections have not been thoroughly investigated in Iran. This study aimed to address this research gap by exploring the impact of AER and CT on the state of S-EB, AR, and AE among university students in the English as a foreign language (EFL) context of Iran. The Academic Emotion Regulation Questionnaire, the Watson Glaser Critical Thinking Appraisal Form A, the Self-efficacy Scale, the Academic Resilience Scale, and the SInAPSi Academic Engagement Scale were administered to 411 Iranian EFL university students. The results of structural equation modeling demonstrated that high levels of AER were associated with higher levels of S-EB, AR, and AE. Additionally, CT was found to positively impact S-EB, AR, and AE. The findings contribute to the understanding of the relationships between AER, CT, S-EB, AR, and AE and have practical implications for the implementation of AER and CT in L2 classrooms.