The influence of perceived teacher and peer support on student engagement in physical education of Chinese middle school students: mediating role of academic self-efficacy and positive emotions

Totally 624 Chinese middle school students were participated in the present study, aiming to examine the correlations between teacher support, peer support, academic self-efficacy, positive emotions, and student engagement in physical education. Our findings demonstrated that student engagement was directly and significantly impacted by both teacher and peer support. Academic self-efficacy mediated the connection between teacher support, peer support, and student engagement, while positive emotions only mediated between teacher support and student engagement. Besides, teacher and peer support indirectly affected student engagement via the sequential mediating roles of academic self-efficacy and positive emotions, respectively. Academic self-efficacy exhibited a larger mediation impact between peer support and student engagement as compared to teacher support, while positive emotions had a relatively weaker mediating effect. These findings emphasize the value of peer and teacher support in encouraging student engagement in physical education. Moreover, enhancing students' academic self-efficacy and positive emotions in the classroom plays an essential role in building a positive cycle that encourages student participation in physical education.