Research on capital in different disciplines has grown exponentially within the past few decades. The definition of capital is no longer limited to the traditional monetary practices as put by Marx (1867), who referred to capital as a class theory related to economic conditions, money, and material possessions. In fact, different types of capital have been introduced, pioneering with Bourdieu (1986) who revolutionized the meaning of capital by introducing other forms of capital along with economic capital, i.e., cultural, social, and symbolic capital. Bourdieu (1986) did not prioritize economic capital over other kinds of capital and defined it only as financial sources. He believed that economic capital deals with social construction, which is also culturally grounded. Bourdieu’s concept of capital paved the way for other types of capital to be proposed, such as natural, physical, and human capital (Coleman, 1990), emotional capital (Nowotny, 1981), psychological capital (Luthans et al., 2004), and sensory capital (Pishghadam et al., 2019). What is common among all forms of capital is having possession of or access to resources that can eventually lead to better positions in life.

According to Blau and Duncan (1967) and Lerner et al. (2009), family socioeconomic status has a significant impact on human development in all aspects and family resources can have a significant impact on children’s academic achievement. Based on the family investment theory, children from families with higher socioeconomic status have more resources for development, such as money, which fosters better academic growth. Children from lower socioeconomic families, on the other hand, have less development capital, which impedes the improvement of academic outcomes (Conger and Donnellan, 2007). Whether or not a child can graduate, parents’ educational level and income have a great influence on their children’s access to higher education (James, 2000).

Speaking of academic achievement, Lei et al. (2018), Zhang et al. (2018), and Abid and Akhtar (2020) have shown that student learning engagement is positively correlated with it or that it can predict students’ academic performance. Although children from lower social status show greater interest in learning than children from higher social status groups, some studies have found that their academic performance is not as strong as that of higher status groups. It has been demonstrated that low academic performance among lower status children is not always due to a lack of motivation for learning. As a result, research into the social class-based influences on learning engagement is essential. This indicates that while a student’s will and effort can affect academic achievement, learning engagement does not.

Moreover, in line with emotional and sensory capital, the concept of emo-sensory quotient (ESQ), introduced by Pishghadam and Shayesteh (2017) emphasizes the essential role of senses and emotions together in experiencing and perceiving the world. Such experiences, according to these scholars, impact cognition, and thus learning. Other researchers continued this research strand and explored how emo-sensory intelligence (ESI) could impact learning (e.g., Borsipour et al., 2019; Gholami et al., 2021). Additionally, Teachman (1987), Perna and Titus (2005), Huang (2009), and Aman et al. (2019) have separately discussed the connection between academic success and social, cultural, and economic capital. However, the literature depicts no research investigating the relationship between emo-sensory quotient (ESQ) and various types of capital and their potential impact on academic achievement, simultaneously.

This study examined the two contexts of Afghanistan and Iran, which are neighboring countries located in central Asia and the Middle East, respectively. They share many cultural and historical ties, as well as the same language and religion. This study aimed to delve into the relationships among capital, ESQ and academic achievement of students in these countries and to make a comparison between the two contexts. The findings of this study can feed into a larger discussion on the bilateral and multilateral relations between the types of capitals and ESQ, contributing to the ongoing proliferation of cross-cultural research on the interdisciplinary work in educational sociology and educational psychology.

Pearson correlation coefficients were calculated for the variables of the study. Table 1 presents correlation results among the participants’ economic capital, cultural capital, social capital, emo-sensory quotient, and GPA. According to Table 1, it was found that GPA was positively and significantly associated with both cultural capital (r = 0.13, p < 0.05) and emo-sensory quotient (r = 0.17, p < 0.01). Significant positive relationships were also found between emo-sensory quotient and cultural capital (r = 0.27, p < 0.01), and social capital (r = 0.25, p < 0.01). In addition, social capital was correlated both with economic capital (r = 0.21, p < 0.01) and cultural capital (r = 0.53, p < 0.01). According to Cohen (1992), correlations between 0.1 and 0.3 are considered small. Therefore, the correlation of academic achievement with emo-sensory quotient and cultural capital, emo-sensory quotient with cultural and social capital, and finally social capital with economic capital have small effect sizes, and thus their strength of the relationship is considered weak.

Next, to check the predictability of academic achievement in terms of emo-sensory quotient and the three capitals, SEM was run. One model was proposed for the predictive relationships of the five variables. In order to check whether the model fits the data, some fit indices were estimated (see Table 2). According to Schreiber et al. (2006), when for a model, the Chi-square (X2)/df ratio is smaller than 3, its Comparative Fit Index (CFI) and Good Fit Index (GFI) are larger than 0.90, and its Root Mean Square Error of Approximation (RMSEA) is smaller than 0.08, the model is assumed to indicate a good fit to a set of data.

Based on Table 2, the proposed model indicated an acceptable fit (X2/df = 1.98, GFI = 0.946, CFI = 0.973, and RMSEA = 0.054). The following figure presents the schematic representation of the relationships among the five variables.

As revealed in Figure 1, GPA is positively and directly predicted with the variables of emo-sensory quotient (β = 0.20, p < 0.01) and cultural capital (β = 0.14, p < 0.01). Through a bootstrap analysis with ESQ as the mediator, GPA was found to be indirectly predicted with social capital (β = 0.05, p < 0.05) and cultural capital (β = 0.06, p < 0.05). Besides, emo-sensory quotient was found to be positively and significantly predicted by social capital (β = 0.24, p < 0.01) and cultural capital (β = 0.29, p < 0.01).

To examine whether there would be a significant difference between Iranian and Afghan participants regarding their levels of social capital, cultural capital, economic capital, emo-sensory quotient, and GPA, the independent samples t-test was employed (see Table 4). Table 3 demonstrates the descriptive statistics of the two groups.

As presented in Table 3, the mean scores of Afghan participants concerning the levels of social capital (Afghan; M = 99.05, Iranian; M = 95.60) and cultural capital (Afghan; M = 53.65, Iranian; M = 51.21) were higher than those of the Iranian participants. However, the mean scores of Iranian participants regarding levels of emo-sensory quotient (Iranian; M = 542.44, Afghan; M = 517.46), economic capital (Iranian; M = 35.12, Afghan; M = 32.27), and GPA (Iranian; M = 88.96, Afghan; M = 84.56) were higher than those of Afghan students.

Table 4 presents the results of the independent samples t-test for these five variables between Iranian and Afghan groups. As indicated in Table 4, there were significant differences between Iranian and Afghan participants with regards to levels of cultural capital (t = −2.429, p < 0.05), ESQ (t = 2.781, p < 0.05), economic capital (t = 2.844, p < 0.05) and GPA (t = 4.521, p < 0.05). In other words, Afghan students had significantly higher levels of cultural capital, whereas Iranian students had higher economic capital, ESQ, and GPA.

Next, to investigate the relationships among the five variables of the study within each country, two sets of correlation coefficients were calculated (see Table 5). Table 5 presents the correlations among the variables in both countries.

In Iran, as can be seen in Table 5, social capital had a moderate correlation with cultural capital (r = 0.49, p < 0.01) and emo-sensory quotient (r = 0.33, p < 0.01), and a weak correlation with economic capital (r = 0.27, p < 0.01). Also, emo-sensory quotient had a moderate correlation with cultural capital (r = 0.40, p < 0.01) and a weak correlation with GPA (r = 0.22, p < 0.05). Finally, GPA had weak correlations both with cultural capital (r = 0.28, p < 0.01) and emo-sensory quotient (r = 0.22, p < 0.05).

In Afghanistan, according to Table 5, social capital was weakly correlated with emo-sensory quotient (r = 0.22, p < 0.01) and economic capital (r = 0.21, p < 0.01) and largely correlated with cultural capital (r = 0.56, p < 0.01). Additionally, emo-sensory quotient had a weak correlation with cultural capital (r = 0.22, p < 0.01). However, no significant correlation was found between GPA and other variables of the study in Afghanistan.

The first hypothesis regarding the correlations among economic, cultural, social capital, ESQ, and academic achievement was accepted. The correlational findings showed that GPA had a positive correlation with cultural capital and ESQ. In other words, a person with a high GPA could have higher cultural competence, literacy, and extraversion. For example, students with higher academic achievement could more easily welcome individual and cultural differences. This finding mirrors Merenluoto (2009)’s, Pishghadam and Zabihi’s (2011), Alanen et al.’s, (2015), Momeni et al.’s (2020), and Pishghadam and Shakeebaee’s (2020) results concerning the relationship between GPA and cultural capital. In contrast, Khodadady and Zabihi (2011) found no correlation between cultural capital and GPA. Additionally, being able to manage sensory feelings, those with higher ESQ could make better academic achievement. For instance, students with higher ESQ often experience low levels of test anxiety (Tabatabaee Farani et al., 2019), resulting in higher GPAs. The finding is also consistent with Pishghadam et al. (2020), demonstrating that minting a high GPA is associated with high ESQ scores. Furthermore, ESQ had a positive relationship with cultural capital and social capital, which indicates that a person with high ESQ tends to use more cultural goods, such as theater, music, library, museum, and is more likely to be sociable. This finding is in line with Pishghadam et al. (2019). They stated that sensory capital has a bilateral relationship with other forms of capital, such as social, economic, and cultural capital. In other words, having access to cultural and social capital leads to a more emo-sensory experience of the world and vice versa.

The second hypothesis regarding economic, cultural, social capital, and ESQ as predictors of academic achievement was also accepted. The results of SEM revealed that academic achievement is predicted positively and significantly by the variables of ESQ and cultural capital and, also positively and indirectly by social and cultural capital through the mediation of ESQ. The finding is supported by what Piri et al. (2018) found concerning the predictability of GPA through cultural capital. Moreover, this is in line with the result of Zahed-Babelan and Moenikia (2010) concerning the predictability of GPA through the components of emotional intelligence, which also complies with the findings of Williford (2000), Brackett et al. (2004), Mayer et al. (2004), and Brackett and Salovey (2006). In the same vein, Imel (2003), Márquez et al. (2006), and Berenson et al. (2008) revealed that there is a relationship between emotional intelligence and academic achievement. Also, Dufur et al. (2013), Yang (2017), and Mishra (2020) all found correlations between social capital and academic achievement.

Further, the third hypothesis regarding the differences between Iranian and Afghan participants in terms of their economic capital, cultural capital, social capital, ESQ, and academic achievement was accepted. The findings showed that the Afghan participants enjoyed higher cultural capital levels than the Iranian participants. However, with respect to ESQ, economic capital, and GPA, the Iranian participants had higher scores. Such weaker coefficients in Afghanistan might stem from the teacher-centered teaching approach in many Afghan educational settings as many Afghan teachers still use traditional teaching methods (Monib et al., 2020). In other words, teachers who have more talking times in their classes than their students and use repetitive activities are more likely not to incorporate activities that induce various senses in their teaching. Besides, with respect to economic capital, a major reason behind Afghanistan’s economic capital compared to the economic capital score in Iran is the economic difficulties Afghan people face. A recent survey by the Asia Foundation in 2019 showed that 77.7% of their respondents were concerned about the low economic situations of the families (Akseer and Rieger, 2019).

The final hypothesis regarding the correlations among economic capital, cultural capital, social capital, ESQ, and academic achievement with one another within each country was accepted as well. The study demonstrated that cultural capital in both Iran and Afghanistan is significantly correlated with social capital. Additionally, economic capital and social capital are associated with one another in both countries. Similarly, emo-sensory quotient is related to social capital and cultural capital in both countries, although the correlation coefficients are weaker for Afghanistan. Finally, GPA was found to be related to cultural capital and emo-sensory quotient in Iran, while in Afghanistan the correlations were not significant. The associations among economic, social, and cultural capital have been pointed out by Bourdieu (1992), and thus the similar results obtained in both contexts confirm the somewhat universal relationships that exist among these three forms of capital. However, the different findings obtained in the two contexts regarding academic achievement may be due to the more teacher-centered educational system of Afghanistan (Monib et al., 2020), which would undermine the role of emotions, senses, and capitals.

Capital and ESQ are not novel concepts. Nonetheless, the cross-cultural comparison of the findings from Iran and Afghanistan as well as their relationship and influence on academic achievement added to the novelty of the research concept. The study contributed to the body of literature on ESQ and types of capital by emphasizing that individuals with higher ESQ and cultural competence are more likely to perform better academically, as demonstrated by our data from Afghanistan and Iran, with the former having higher cultural capital and the latter having higher ESQ.

The findings of this study have some pedagogical implications. First, since the findings showed that ESQ is related to academic achievement, teachers are encouraged to create a sensory-rich environment in their classes (Shayesteh, 2019) by incorporating various sensory cues (Seyednozadi, 2021) and involving students in more sensory inputs (Hamedi, 2019). Such sensory involvement experiences could enhance long-term memory and contribute to a higher GPA (Tabatabaee Farani, 2019). Next, teachers are encouraged to prepare their curriculums based on their students’ backgrounds and interests as students with different social, cultural and economic capitals might have experienced different academic socialization processes and might have different needs. Finally, consideration of the role of social, cultural, and economic capitals, and ESQ, in academic achievement, as well as the relationships among them, would lead to a fairer learning environment, where teachers would not take learning problems as a lack of mental ability, which would leave students rather discouraged and labeled as not “intelligent” enough.

The present study confirms previous findings and adds to our understanding of the significant relationship between ESQ and different types of capitals, namely social, cultural, and economic in academic achievement. However, the results of this study should be interpreted in light of their limitations. First, since the data were collected through online questionnaires, the sample could not be considered as the representatives of all individuals, especially in Afghanistan because not everyone in Afghanistan has access to technology and the internet. Future researchers can include participants from diverse groups around the countries and collect the data using different data collection tools. Second, the study did not consider the participants’ responses in terms of gender differences; this could be an agenda for future studies. Also, prior to the collapse of the Afghan government to the Taliban, the data for this study were collected in the spring and summer of 2021. Due to the current Taliban regime in the country, the educational curriculum has been revised to reflect the ideologies of the new authorities. As a result, it is imperative to understand this critical limitation when interpreting the findings of the study. Lastly, cross-cultural studies can be done on the relationships among capitals, ESQ, and academic achievement in different regions, and contexts of the world, bringing about more insight into how these variables influence each other.

The raw data supporting the conclusions of this article will be made available by the authors, without undue reservation.

The studies involving human participants were reviewed and approved by Ferdowsi University of Mashhad. The patients/participants provided their written informed consent to participate in this study.

RP conceived and designed the experiments. SM, SH, and MM performed the experiments. EN, RP, and SM analyzed the data, contributed reagents, materials, and analysis tools, and reviewed and edited the manuscript. SH, MM, SM, and EN wrote the manuscript. All authors contributed to the article and approved the submitted version.