How does teacher support impact the academic achievement of boarding junior high school students? The mediating role of academic self-concept and the moderating effect of academic anxiety

Aim This study aimed to examine the mediating role of academic self-concept in the relationship between teacher support and academic achievement, as well as the moderating role of academic anxiety in the relationships between teacher support and both academic self-concept and academic achievement. Sample This cross-sectional study involved 2,239 boarding junior high school students (1,132 boys, 1,161 girls; M age = 13.33, SD = 0.94), recruited via convenience sampling from Yunnan and Zhejiang provinces, China. Inclusion criteria were as follows: (1) be officially enrolled as junior high school students; (2) boarding students are those who stay overnight at school every day except for major holidays; and (3) provide voluntary consent to participate. Methods Teacher support was measured using the Perceived Teacher Support subscale of the School Climate Scale; academic self-concept was assessed with the General Academic Self-Concept Scale; academic achievement was indexed by students’ self-reported class rank; and academic anxiety was evaluated using the Academic Anxiety subscale of the Academic Emotions Questionnaire. Results The findings revealed that academic self-concept and it’s four dimensions mediated the relationship between teacher support and academic achievement ( β = 0.12, 0.08, 0.07, 0.10, 0.06, respectively). Additionally, academic anxiety moderated the relationships between teacher support and academic anxiety on academic self-concept ( β = −0.03) and academic achievement ( β = −0.04), moreover, academic anxiety moderated the relationships between teacher support and the value of academic achievement dimension of academic self-concept ( β = −0.10), as well as teacher support and academic achievement when mediator is self-control of academic behavior ( β = −0.05), perception of academic ability ( β = −0.05) and experience of academic emotion ( β = −0.04). Conclusion Although the sample of this study comes from boarding schools in specific provinces of China, which may limit the generalizability of the findings, this study highlights the significant impact of teacher support on academic achievement and underscores the importance of academic self-concept and academic anxiety in influencing these outcomes. This enhances our understanding and offers insights for re-examining classic theories such as social cognitive theory and cognitive resource theory.