Emotional Intelligence in Chemistry Education: A Systematic Review of Theoretical Foundations, Pedagogical Applications, and Research Trends

Abstract

Emotional Intelligence (EI) has gained increasing attention across education research; however, its role within chemistry education remains conceptually diffuse and methodologically fragmented. This systematic review examines how EI and related affective constructs have been conceptualised, enacted, and investigated within chemistry education research between 2015 and 2025. Following PRISMA 2020 guidelines, an initial search of the Scopus database yielded 292 records, which were reduced through screening and eligibility procedures to 32 articles. Studies were included if they examined emotional or affective processes within chemistry or closely related STEM learning contexts, while studies lacking disciplinary relevance or affective constructs were excluded. To reduce potential bias, screening and coding decisions were independently reviewed by a second researcher. Findings were analysed using a narrative thematic synthesis aligned with the review questions. Because EI-related research spans heterogeneous disciplinary contexts, a second-level disciplinary relevance appraisal was conducted, resulting in a final analytic dataset of 17 studies comprising 8 core chemistry–affective investigations and 9 conceptually relevant studies. A narrative thematic synthesis revealed four interrelated patterns: (1) EI is rarely adopted as an explicit theoretical framework in chemistry education, yet emotional competencies aligned with EI are structurally embedded in disciplinary learning practices; (2) affective demands emerge prominently in laboratory inquiry, representational reasoning, and socio-scientific instructional contexts; (3) existing research is shaped by methodological patterns that privilege self-report measures over process-oriented analyses of emotional dynamics; and (4) persistent conceptual gaps constrain the field’s capacity to theorise emotions as constitutive of chemical meaning-making. By synthesising chemistry-specific and conceptually adjacent literature, this review advances an epistemic–affective perspective on EI in chemistry education and articulates an integrative agenda for future research. The findings highlight the need for explicit theorisation of EI grounded in disciplinary practices, methodological innovation capable of capturing situated emotional processes, and culturally responsive research that extends beyond predominantly Western contexts.