Child-perceived teacher emotional support, its relations with teaching practices, and task persistence

Sibling bullying victimization and subjective well-being among children across 13 countries: The mediating roles of perceived social support and the moderating role of uncertainty avoidance culture

BACKGROUND

While sibling bullying victimization has been recognized as a significant factor detrimentally impacting children's subjective well-being, the underlying mechanisms have yet to be fully elucidated.

OBJECTIVE

This study seeks to investigate the potential mediating role of perceived social support, encompassing support from family, friend, teacher, and neighbor, as well as the moderating influence of uncertainty avoidance culture.

PARTICIPANTS AND SETTING

A sample of 19,328 children was obtained from Wave Three of Children's Worlds: International Survey of Children's Well-being in 13 countries.

METHODS

The structural equation model (SEM) was used to investigate the mediating role of perceived social support in the relationship between sibling bullying victimization and children's subjective well-being. The multiple group analysis was carried out to assess the moderating role of uncertainty avoidance culture.

RESULTS

This study reveals a negative association between sibling bullying victimization and children's subjective well-being (β = -0.138, p < 0.001). Perceived support from family, friend, teacher, and neighbor emerges as a mediating mechanism in this relationship. Uncertainty avoidance culture moderates this relationship, and this association is stronger for children raised in a strong uncertainty avoidance culture (β = -0.085, p < 0.001).

CONCLUSIONS

The results of this study contribute to our comprehension of the nexus between sibling bullying victimization and children's subjective well-being. Moreover, this study extends the current body of knowledge by delving into the cultural disparities spanning various countries.

The Impact of Teacher and Peer Support on Preservice EFL Teachers' Work Engagement in Their Teaching Practicum: The Mediating Role of Teacher L2 Grit and Language Teaching Enjoyment

The academic study of work engagement among pre-service teachers during their practicum has been notably sparse, with even fewer investigations examining the influence of environmental stimuli on their engagement levels and the role of individual psychological and emotional factors throughout the practicum. To address this research gap, the present study, informed by the Stimulus-Organism-Response (SOR) theory, has developed a structural equation model. This model posits teacher support and peer support as stimuli, L2 grit and the foreign language teaching enjoyment as the organism, and the work engagement of pre-service teachers as the behavioral response. A quantitative survey was conducted among 516 preservice EFL teachers to examine the relationships among variables in the model. Findings showed direct predictions of work engagement by teacher support, L2 grit, and FLTE. L2 grit and FLTE sequentially mediated the relationship between teacher and peer support and work engagement. This study identified the factors influencing preservice EFL teachers' work engagement, contributing to a deeper understanding of their psychological characteristics and emotional experiences during the teaching practicum. Additionally, the study offers practical implications for universities and internship schools to enhance preservice teachers' work engagement during the practicum.

Callous-unemotional Traits and Child Response to Teacher Rewards, Discipline, and Instructional Methods in Chinese Preschools: A Classroom Observation Study

Atypical responses to teacher rewards, discipline and different forms of instructional methods have been identified as potential contributors to disruptive behavior, low school engagement, and academic underachievement in children with elevated callous-unemotional (CU) traits. To date, research on CU traits in schools has relied on interview or questionnaire methods and has predominantly been conducted in Western countries. Thus, the present study aims to investigate the relationships between CU traits and children's responses to teacher rewards, discipline and instructional methods in the Chinese preschool context using classroom observation. Eight teachers (7 females, 1 male; M = 37.66 years) and 116 children (56% girls; M = 5.16 years) from two mainstream Chinese preschools participated in the study. Of the 116 eligible children, the behavior of 108 children from four classes were observed during classroom activities. Findings indicated that CU traits were not related to children's responses to discipline, nor did CU traits moderate the relationship between instructional methods and children's academic engagement. Higher CU traits predicted a greater frequency of one-to-one teacher-child interaction. Our findings offer initial insights into the potential of early school-based interventions in fostering engagement and prosocial behavior among children with CU traits. However, they also highlight the need for additional support for preschool teachers, who face the challenge of managing these high-risk children who appear to require more individual time and attention.

A study on the effects of perceived playfulness and emotional support in interactive learning environments for German language acquisition-A role-playing library system case

Introduction

This study examines the emotional support offered by the non-player characters (NPCs) in an interactive learning environment, as well as the effects of the perceived playfulness of the interactive system on German language learning.

Method

We developed a role-playing library system to serve this purpose. 2,377 Chinese Internet users were surveyed using online questionnaire.

Results

A theoretical model of emotion- driven learning (ELM) was proposed based on the analysis results of valid recovered data. Additionally, NPCs were found to be effective in improving learning outcomes through emotional support.

Discussion

An interactive education system may be able to enhance the perceived playfulness of learning in order to enhance the learning experience.

Effective Educational Practices and Students’ Well-being: The Mediating Role of Students’ Self-efficacy

Effective educational practices aim to promote students’ academic achievement; however, they also have an impact on students’ well-being which is a growing topic of interest in educational research. In a sample of 2242 students (5th to 10th grades) nested in 104 classrooms from Spanish schools, we have tested the mediating role of students’ self-efficacy on the relationship between effective educational practices and both students’ well-being and academic performance. Analyses were run at student and class levels, by performing a multilevel mediation structural equation model with cross-sectional data. Results supported a partial mediation model at the individual level, in which effective educational practices had a direct and indirect effect on students’ well-being, and indirect effect on academic performance in math and language through self-efficacy. At the group level, results support a full mediation model of the effect of effective educational practices in class well-being and in class math performance (but not in language), mediated by the group mean of self-efficacy. These findings suggest the importance of educational practices in increasing self-efficacy beliefs on their students, as a source to increase students’ well-being and academic performance.

Patterns of Children's Relationships With Parents and Teachers in Grade 1: Links to Task Persistence and Performance

Our study aimed to investigate the patterns of children's relationships with their parents and teachers, the development of these relationships during Grade 1, and respective links to children's learning (in task persistence and performance). Parents of 350 children answered questionnaires about the quality of their relationships with their children; 25 teachers answered questions about children's task persistence at school and the quality of their relationships with their students; 350 children completed literacy and math performance tests; and six testers evaluated children's task persistence when completing those tests. All measures were administered twice: at the start and end of Grade 1. Latent profile analyses found two meaningful child profiles that were similar at the beginning and end of Grade 1: average relationship (89% at T1, 85% at T2) and conflictual relationship (11% at T1, 15% at T2) with parents and teachers. These profiles were highly stable throughout Grade 1, except for 15 children who moved from an average relationship to a conflictual relationship profile. This declining trajectory can be characterized by poor relationships with teachers and low task persistence at the end of Grade 1, although they did not perform any worse than other children. Finally, children exhibiting conflictual relationships with their parents and teachers at the beginning of Grade 1 performed worse on spelling and subtraction tasks and demonstrated lower task-persistent behavior at the end of Grade 1 than those with average (good) relationships with parents and teachers.

Teachers’ Self-Efficacy: How does it Predict Children's Task Persistence and Behavioral Self-Regulation?

It has been suggested that the quality of pre-primary education influences children's learning abilities in a variety of ways. Teachers’ behaviors are among the major factors relating to the quality of the classrooms, and one aspect of them – teachers’ self-efficacy – has been put forward to predict successful development of childrens’ learning and abilities to learn. Given this, it is surprising that relatively few studies have taken pre-primary techers' self-efficasy into account, and no research on the topic has been conducted in Lithuania. Futhermore, a few studies have analyzed how teachers' self-efficacy relates to childrens' learning abilities, such as, tasks persistence and self-regulation. Consequently, the present study analyzed relations between teachers' self-efficacy, childrens' task persistence and self-regulation. This study is based on the theory of teachers’ self-efficacy by Tschannen-Moran and Woolfolk Hoy (2001). The aim of the current study is to determine whether the self-efficacy of Lithuanian pre-primary teachers' is related to the learning outcomes, in particular, childrens' tasks persistence and ability to regulate their behavior. Childrens' tasks persistence was measured using the Behavioral strategy rating scale (teachers' form) (Aunola et al., 2000; Zhang et al., 2011); the Head-Toes-Knees-Shoulders task (McCellandet al., 2007; Ponitz et al., 2008; Ponitz at al., 2009) was used to measure  childrens' self-regulation. Participants were 18 pre-primary education teachers from six Lithuanian schools and their 229 pre-primary class students (116 [50.7%] girls and 113 [49.3%] boys). Teachers answered questionnaires concerning their self-efficacy towards the whole class and towards each child’s task persistence; school psychologists tested each child on their self-regulation. The statistical analyses of this study comprised of correlation analyses and hierarchical regression analyses. The results supported our expectations about the positive significant relations between teachers' self-efficacy, childrens' tasks persistence and self-regulation. That is, the greater teachers' self-efficacy was, better childrens' tasks persistence and self-regulation were. The results stayed significant even after controlling for, child gender, parental education, and teachers’ experience. MoreoverIn particular, gilrs and children of higher educated parents were more likely to have better task persistence and self-regulation. Moreover, surprisingly, it was found that teachers' work experience predicted childrens' self-regulation. Taken together, the results have  verified that techers' self-efficacy plays a meaningful role in promoting childrens’ tasks persistence and self-regulation in Lithuanian preschool. Thus,  from the practical point of view, in order to facilitate children’s learning in preschool and primary school, one should also pay attention to the ways of strengthening teachers’ self-efficacy. 

Students' Trait Emotional Intelligence and Perceived Teacher Emotional Support in Preventing Burnout: The Moderating Role of Academic Anxiety

The current study sought to investigate the role of trait emotional intelligence and perceived teacher emotional support in school burnout. Furthermore, the moderating role of academic anxiety in these relationships was examined. A sample of 493 Italian high school students (81.9% female) aged 14–19 years (M = 16.27, SD = 1.48) was involved in the study. A latent moderated structural equation approach was performed to test the hypothesized model. The results showed that both trait emotional intelligence and perceived teacher emotional support were negatively associated with school burnout. Moreover, academic anxiety moderated the relation between perceived teacher emotional support and school burnout. Specifically, when the level of anxiety was high, the protective role of perceived teacher emotional support toward burnout was weakened. Findings are discussed in light of the protective role of resources on burnout and considering the detrimental impact of academic anxiety in school settings.