The Relationship Between Emotional Intelligence and Academic Achievement Among Junior High School Students

Abstract

The purpose of this study is to determine the relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement among eighth-grade students at SMPN 11 in Kupang City during the 2025/2026 school year. This is a quantitative study using a correlational method. The population consisted of 309 students, and the sample consisted of 77 students. Simple random sampling was used as the sampling technique. The data analysis technique in this study used Spearman’s Rho correlation test. The results of the Spearman’s Rho correlation analysis showed a calculated r value of 0.025, while the table r value at a 5% significance level with N = 77 was 0.224. Since the calculated r-value is less than the table r-value (0.025 < 0.224) and the significance value (Sig., 2-tailed) of 0.830 is greater than 0.05, the null hypothesis (H0) is accepted. A correlation coefficient of 0.025 indicates that the relationship between emotional intelligence and student academic achievement is very weak and positive in direction; that is, an increase in emotional intelligence tends to be accompanied by an increase in academic achievement, though without a significant contribution. Based on the research results, it can be concluded that there is no significant relationship between emotional intelligence and the academic achievement of eighth-grade students at SMPN 11 Kupang for the 2025/2026 school year.