Examining the role of emotional regulation in vocational education: effects on academic performance, self-motivation, and learning satisfaction

Emotional Regulation (ER) is one of the essential aspects of Emotional Intelligence (EI) and is crucial in processing negative emotions that affect health, well-being, and learning. The study analyzed the connection between ER and learning outcomes among Vocational Education (VE) students in the EI theoretical framework. A structured questionnaire was used to collect data by March–June 2024 on 436 students of three VE institutions in Jiangsu Province, China, using a purposive sampling method. The quantitative research design was used, and the data were analyzed using the Statistical Package of the Social Sciences (SPSS). The results indicated that ER has a large positive effect on various learning outcomes, such as Academic Performance (AP), Self-Motivation (SM), Learning Satisfaction, Collaborative Learning (CL), Problem-Solving skills (PS), and flexibility in learning and shifting working settings. Students who had a higher ER had better learning results in VE programs. The novelty of the current study is that it thoroughly explores ER and various learning outcomes based on the EI theory in a vocational setting. In practice, the findings indicate that implementing EI-based training in vocational education will be useful in improving ER and, consequently, resilience, performance, and overall learning effectiveness of students.