Teacher care and mental wellbeing: Exploring the role of grit, resilience, and AI-interaction in education management
Year: 2025
Type: article
Study design: Observational Study
Abstract: This study is intended to explore the role of perceived teacher care, that is, the real caring and concern of teachers, on Chinese university students' psychological health, as mediated by student grit and resilience. The research context is the increasing concern for student mental health and the increased presence of artificial intelligence (AI)-based tools in education. A three-time-point cross-sectional survey of N = 437 undergraduates was carried out and data were gathered to minimize common-method bias. The proposed model was tested using structural equation modeling with SmartPLS. The results demonstrate that teacher care has a positive relationship with student grit and resilience, which in turn mediate its positive effect on students' psychological health. In addition, student AI interaction, the level of students' interaction with AI-powered educational tools, is a significant moderator of these pathways: in particular, high student AI interaction reinforces the effects of resilience on well-being. These results indicate that positive teacher-student relationships, along with positive use of AI tools, work together to enhance students' mental health. With the right support and guidance, AI can become a powerful tool for educators and policymakers to promote caring teacher practices and implement AI-support systems that encourage student resilience, perseverance, and well-being. The study advances psychosocial theory by introducing technology as a moderator, and offers guidelines for future studies of educational technology and student mental health.
Source: Acta Psychologica
Authors: Kuixin Guo, Jiansheng Zhang, Hafiz Waqas Ahmed Ansari
Language: English
Subfield: Social Psychology
Field: Psychology
Domain: Social Sciences
Open Access status: gold
Estimated APC paid: $2,670
OpenAlex ID: W4416738233