Towards an ecological understanding of student emotions in feedback: a scoping review

Students’ emotions have been increasingly examined in feedback research. Socioculturally positioned research has particularly noted that emotions do not exist in a vacuum but are contextually situated, which also holds true for feedback encounters. In this scoping review, we provide a synthesis of earlier studies on emotions in feedback in higher education (2003–2023, 46 studies). First, we outline the research designs and methods. Second, we analyse the contextual influences on students’ emotions in feedback. We used Bronfenbrenner’s ecological theory as our guiding framework. The findings reveal that self-report methods have been widely utilized. Most studies have investigated emotions either on an individualistic or at the microsystem level, while only a few have considered the wider influence of the macrosystem and chronosystem levels. Future research must consider the macrosystem since emotions are historically, culturally and politically embedded in social interactions. Scholars must take into account the chronosystem level since emotions are dynamic, evolve over time and reflect wider societal changes.