Teachers’ Caring Behaviors and Students’ Learning Outcomes: The Mediating Role of Teacher Support in Chinese College Students

Abstract

This study aims to investigate the mechanism linking teachers’ caring behaviors, teacher support, and college students’ learning outcomes. In recent years, teachers’ caring behaviors have been recognized as a crucial factor in enhancing students’ learning motivation and academic performance; however, the pathway through which such caring behaviors influence learning outcomes via teacher support remains unclear in higher education contexts. Accordingly, the objectives of this study are: Examine the overall status of teachers' caring behaviors, learning outcomes, and teacher support; investigate the direct relationship between teachers' caring behaviors and students' learning outcomes; and assess the mediating role of teacher support between teachers' caring behaviors and learning outcomes. A quantitative research method was adopted, with a sample of 415 college students from 10 undergraduate institutions in Guangxi, China. The study employed validated measurement tools, including a teachers' caring behaviors scale, a teacher support questionnaire, and a self-assessment scale for learning outcomes. Data were collected through in-class testing and analyzed using SPSS 29.0 and the PROCESS macro. The research was framed within the Social Support Theory and Self-Determination Theory. The results indicate that the overall status of teachers' caring behaviors, students' learning outcomes, and teacher support in the Guangxi region's universities is relatively high. Teachers' caring behaviors significantly and positively predicted learning outcomes, with teacher support playing a partial mediating role. Emotional understanding, academic guidance, and structural support from teachers can enhance students' motivation and self-efficacy, thereby improving learning outcomes. This study provides empirical evidence for the teacher-student interaction mechanisms in higher education and highlights the key role of teacher support in promoting students' overall development. Future research could further explore the dynamic influence mechanisms of teachers' caring and support behaviors across different disciplines and cultural contexts, deepening the understanding of the relationship between teachers' emotional behaviors and students' learning outcomes in higher education.