The effects of teacher immediacy and autonomy support on secondary students’ approaches to learning

Teachers are closely connected with secondary students and have an impact on students’ approaches to learning and academic results. The present study aimed to explore the effects of teacher immediacy and autonomy support on junior high students’ approaches to learning. We conducted a questionnaire survey with 232 junior high school students and found that both teacher immediacy and autonomy support were positively related to students’ deep approach to learning, with the dual-pathway mediating roles of positive academic emotion and academic efficacy. Regression results showed that when participants perceived their teachers to have both high levels of immediacy and autonomy support, they reported the highest level of deep approach to learning. No significant results were found in the influence of teacher immediacy, autonomy support, and the interaction effect on surface approach to learning. The implications and limitations are discussed.