Wu Manli, Cai Jingyi
School of Foreign Language, Xuchang Vocational Technical College, Xuchang, Henan, 461000, China.
BMC Psychol. 2025 Jul 4;13(1):728. doi: 10.1186/s40359-025-03046-8.
The significance of academic engagement for English as a Foreign Language (EFL) learners has gained increasing attention in recent research. While studies have shown that teachers' caring behavior positively influences academic engagement, the underlying roles of self-efficacy and peer support remain unexplored. This study examines the impact of teachers' caring behavior on academic engagement and investigates the chain-mediating effects of self-efficacy and peer support.
A survey-based study was conducted with EFL learners from three universities in Xuchang, Henan Province, China. The study utilized the Teachers' Caring Behavior Scale, English Self-Efficacy Scale, Peer Support Scale, and Utrecht Work Engagement Scale for Students. Data analysis was performed using Partial Least Squares Structural Equation Modeling with SmartPLS 4.0 to examine the relationships among variables.
The findings indicate that teachers' caring behavior significantly enhances academic engagement (β = 0.069; p = 0.042). Peer support fully mediated the relationship between teachers' caring behavior and academic engagement (VAF = 68.56%), while self-efficacy partially mediated this effect (VAF = 45.67%). Furthermore, peer support and self-efficacy jointly functioned as a chain mediator, linking teachers' caring behavior to academic engagement (VAF = 64.80%).
The study suggests that teachers' caring behavior fosters a supportive peer environment, which enhances self-efficacy and ultimately increases academic engagement. These findings provide theoretical support and practical insights for improving academic engagement among EFL learners, emphasizing the importance of teacher support and peer interactions in language learning.
学术参与对外语学习者的重要性在最近的研究中越来越受到关注。虽然研究表明教师的关怀行为对学术参与有积极影响，但自我效能感和同伴支持的潜在作用仍未得到探索。本研究考察教师关怀行为对学术参与的影响，并探究自我效能感和同伴支持的链式中介作用。
对来自中国河南省许昌市三所大学的外语学习者进行了一项基于调查的研究。该研究使用了教师关怀行为量表、英语自我效能量表、同伴支持量表和学生乌得勒支工作投入量表。使用SmartPLS 4.0进行偏最小二乘结构方程建模进行数据分析，以检验变量之间的关系。
研究结果表明，教师的关怀行为显著提高了学术参与度（β = 0.069；p = 0.042）。同伴支持完全中介了教师关怀行为与学术参与之间的关系（方差解释率VAF = 68.56%），而自我效能感部分中介了这种影响（VAF = 45.67%）。此外，同伴支持和自我效能感共同作为链式中介，将教师的关怀行为与学术参与联系起来（VAF = 64.80%）。
该研究表明，教师的关怀行为营造了一个支持性的同伴环境，这提高了自我效能感，并最终增加了学术参与度。这些发现为提高外语学习者的学术参与度提供了理论支持和实践见解，强调了教师支持和同伴互动在语言学习中的重要性。
