Does Teacher Support Scaffold Engagement? Academic Self-Efficacy as Mediator and Proactive Personality as Moderator Among Chinese High School Students

TL;DR

This study explores how teacher support affects student engagement in Chinese high schools, finding that self-efficacy and proactive personality play important roles.

Contribution

The study identifies academic self-efficacy as a mediator and proactive personality as a moderator in the relationship between teacher support and student engagement.

Findings

Perceived teacher support positively influences academic engagement.

Academic self-efficacy partially mediates the effect of teacher support on engagement.

Proactive personality strengthens the indirect effect of academic self-efficacy on engagement.

Abstract

The current study investigates how high school students’ perceived teacher support relates to their academic engagement, drawing on Job Demands–Resources (JD-R) and Conservation of Resources (COR) Theories. It further examined academic self-efficacy’s mediating role and the moderating role of proactive personality. The study used Perceived Teacher Support Behavioral Questionnaire, Academic Self-Efficacy Scale, Proactive Personality Scale, and Academic Engagement Scale to survey 1664 students at a public high school in a county-level city in southeastern Henan Province, China. Findings showed that (1) perceived teacher support positively influenced students’ academic engagement; (2) academic self-efficacy partially mediated this connection; (3) proactive personality moderated the indirect effect, specifically the path from academic self-efficacy to academic engagement. In conclusion, academic self-efficacy acts as a key factor through which perceived teacher support promotes students’ academic engagement. Proactive personality further strengthens the effect of academic self-efficacy on engagement.

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