Inteligencia emocional y rendimiento académico: una relación esencial en estudiantes de educación media y superior.

Abstract

This study analyzed the relationship between Emotional Intelligence and academic performance in two educational contexts: eleventh-grade students from the Ciudad Mocoa Educational Institution (Putumayo) and first-semester Law students at Unitecnar University (Cartagena). The general objective was to understand how Emotional Intelligence influenced the academic performance of both populations. A mixed-methods approach with a descriptive, correlational, and comparative design was applied, integrating validated questionnaires of Emotional Intelligence, semi-structured interviews, and the analysis of academic averages. The sample consisted of 40 students, 20 from secondary education and 20 from higher education. The results showed a positive correlation between higher levels of Emotional Intelligence and better academic performance. In secondary education, the performance was homogeneous, with a group average of 3.89/5, while in higher education the results were more dispersed, with cases of excellence and lag. It was concluded that strengthening emotional competencies such as resilience, adaptability, positive mood, and self-awareness favored not only academic performance but also students’ adaptation to school and university challenges, thus becoming a protective factor against failure and a promoter of integral well-being.