Moderating Effect of Parental and Teacher Variables on the Resilience-Academic Performance Relationship in Spanish Adolescents

Abstract

Multiple factors influence the academic performance of students. The evaluation and control of these factors directly impact the improvement of educational quality and, therefore, on teaching-learning processes. In addition to student’s abilities, the family and teaching contexts are key factors associated with academic performance. Furthermore, various aspects of a student's personality, such as resilience, play a crucial role in their capacity to confront, navigate, and resolve personal or social challenges; these competencies have a direct effect on their academic performance. This paper studies the moderating effects of the variables of parental support and positive classroom relationships established by teachers on the relationship between resilience and academic performance in mathematics in a population of 15-year-old Spanish students. Descriptive, correlational, and multivariate analyses were conducted through a non-experimental design using secondary data from the 2018 database of the Program for International Student Assessment. Results show that both parental emotional support and positive relationships fostered by teachers play a significant role in moderating the connection between resilience and academic performance in mathematics. Notably, parental support exhibits an inverse moderating effect, diminishing the strength of the relationship between resilience and performance when support levels are high, positive relationships established by teachers in the classroom have a direct effect, i.e., high levels of support strengthen the relationship between resilience and performance. The implications of these results are discussed in the conclusion.