Primary school students’ perceived teacher support – associations with teachers’ resources and contextual factors

Abstract

Teacher support is an essential resource for students learning and well-being at school. This study examines whether teachers’ resources(i.e., perceived social resources in the professional community, work-related stress, and teaching experience) and contextual factors (i.e., class size, school size, and neighborhood socioeconomic status) relate to between class differences in levels and development of students’ teacher support experiences. A two-level latent growth curve analysis is used to study the three-wave longitudinal survey data from fourth to sixth graders (n = 1,879) from 114 classes and their teachers (n = 114). The results indicate that the teacher’s perceived professional recognition and support from colleagues and work-related stress related to the class differences in the support students perceive from the teacher.