How to facilitate motivational regulation strategies: Perspectives on teacher humility and teacher-student relationship

Motivational regulation strategies have been found to indirectly influence student academic effort and achievement, confirming their effectiveness for students’ learning. However, due to very little effort in investigating the antecedents of facilitating the development of motivational regulation, applying the SOR model, this study aims to identify teacher humility as the key factor that can indirectly facilitate the development of motivational regulation strategies among students taking online lessons via teacher-student relationships. Using structural equation modelling, findings from data collected from 249 undergraduate students who attended online lessons confirmed the hypotheses that teacher humility was positively related to a better teacher-student relationship and in return led to increased motivational regulation strategies. The teacher-student relationship also fully mediated the influence of teacher humility on motivational regulation strategies. An extra analysis also revealed that enhancement of situational interest, mastery self-talk, and enhancement of personal significance are the three strategies influenced by teacher humility and teacher-student relationship most. Limitation and future research directions as well as the implications for the literature and classroom practices based on the findings were discussed. • Very little attention given to identify the factors leading to motivational regulation strategies • Stimulus-organism-response (SOR) model explains the antecedents of motivational regulation strategies in online learning • Teacher humility is a key factor to indirectly facilitate the development of motivational regulation strategies among students. • Teacher-student relationship fully mediated the influence of teacher humility on motivational regulation strategies