The harmful aspect of teacher conditional support on students self-perception of school competence

Abstract

When children perceive a conditional support, they only feel loved and encouraged for their ability to meet others’ standards. This may lead them to develop high sensitivity to errors and anxiety and low perception of competence. In this study, we examined the relationship between the perceived conditional support from teacher and children’s self-perception of school competence. We tested the mediating effect of sensitivity to errors and test anxiety in the relationship between teacher conditional support and children’s perception of school competence. Participants were 524 elementary school students (aged 9–10 years). The results showed that the greater the extent to which the children perceived conditional support from their teacher, the lower their self-perceived scholastic competence. They also confirm that this relationship was mediated by sensitivity to errors and test anxiety.