Teacher Support and Students’ Academic Persistence: The Role of Learning Motivation

Abstract

This study examined the role of university students' academic persistence (mediated by learning motivation and academic engagement) as a consequence of teacher autonomy and academic and emotional support, moderated by academic resilience. A three-wave survey yielded 500 matched responses from a sample of undergraduate students. We used SmartPLS 4 to evaluate the measurement and structural models. The teacher support dimensions, which are all positive, were found to greatly improve learning motivation and hence led to an increase in academic engagement. Engagement positively influenced persistence, and motivation and engagement respectively mediated the effects of all three support dimensions. Academic resilience strengthened the engagement–persistence relationship. This model accounted for 45.4% of the variance in academic persistence and had statistically significantly higher overall predictive power than the indicator-average model and the linear model. Findings combine supportive teaching, motivation, engagement, and resilience into a cohesive account of students' ongoing university studies.