Recounting the role of emotions in learning economics: Using the Threshold Concepts Framework to explore affective dimensions of students’ learning

Many students find economics difficult. Undergraduate courses often record high failure rates, and research in economics education reflects concerns about the quality of students’ learning. Such concerns may be more acute in the South African context, where academic underpreparedness among students is one of many challenges facing higher education. Despite the emotional connotations of difficulty and challenge frequently associated with economics, affective aspects of learning are seldom considered explicitly in the design of pedagogy and curriculum. Likewise, emotions barely feature in research on teaching and learning in economics. The Threshold Concepts Framework (TCF) offers a view of learning that encompasses both cognitive and affective elements. This approach is increasingly influential within and beyond the discipline in exploring qualitative dimensions of learning. However, this scholarship has yet to delve deeply into emotional aspects of learning in economics. This paper draws on a study that explored the processes and experiences of economics students’ learning in a threshold concepts-infused tutorial programme that complemented a traditionally lectured Intermediate Microeconomics course at a South African university. The study used Interactive Qualitative Analysis (IQA), in which participants themselves generate and analyze data representing their experiences. Students were deeply involved in exploring their learning, in focus groups, individual interviews, and written reflections. These sources produced detailed representations, in the participants’ voices, of their learning in economics. We offer an account of the range of emotional responses they described, foregrounding their words. These descriptions depict learning in economics as a strongly affective process, coloured by a rich wash of emotions, both positive and painful. These responses stemmed from engaging with disciplinary content, from pedagogy and assessment practices, and from students’ views of themselves as learners in the discipline. Emotions in turn affected students’ motivation, learning behaviour and outcomes. We reflect on how these findings might inform teaching approaches that support and facilitate disciplinary learning.