Transformative Learning, Emotional Intelligence, and Resilience: Testing an Integrative Structural Model among University Students

This study tested an integrative structural model linking transformative learning, emotional intelligence, and psychological resilience among university students. Drawing on Transformative Learning Theory, the ability model of emotional intelligence, and contemporary resilience theory, the study specified transformative learning as the focal exogenous construct within a theoretically ordered model linking reflective learning, self-reported emotional competence, and resilience. A cross-sectional online survey was completed by 742 undergraduate students at a private university in East Africa. Confirmatory Factor Analysis supported the adequacy of the three latent constructs. Structural Equation Modeling demonstrated satisfactory model fit (CFI = .93, TLI = .92, RMSEA = .051, SRMR = .044). Transformative learning was positively associated with emotional intelligence (β = .58, p < .001) and resilience (β = .42, p < .001), while emotional intelligence was also positively associated with resilience (β = .34, p < .001). Bootstrapping analyses indicated a significant indirect association of transformative learning with resilience through emotional intelligence. The model explained 34% of the variance in emotional intelligence and 49% of the variance in resilience. Multi-group invariance analyses supported equivalent measurement and structural relations across gender. Because the design was cross-sectional and based on same-time self-report data, the findings should be interpreted as associations consistent with the proposed model rather than as evidence of causal effects. Even so, the results highlight the relevance of holistic pedagogies for student development in higher education.