Understanding the Group Differences Among University Students: Exploring the Relationships Between School Climate, Teacher‒Student Interactions, Academic Self‐Efficacy, and Academic Achievement

ABSTRACT School climate and teacher‐student interactions are important factors leading to differences in student development. However, the mechanisms through which these two factors influence university students’ academic achievement remain unclear, and there is a notable lack of in‐depth research from the perspective of group differences. The study analyzed a sample of 1236 students from 45 Chinese universities. Structural equation modeling was employed to examine the complex relationships among school climate, teacher‐student interaction, academic self‐efficacy, and academic achievement. Our findings show heterogeneity in the academic achievement of Chinese university students across different genders, grades, and disciplines, with females outperforming males, high‐grade students outperforming low‐grades, and liberal arts students outperforming science students. Overall, teacher‐student interaction has a greater impact on academic achievement than school climate. Both school climate and teacher‐student interaction influence academic achievement through the mediating role of academic self‐efficacy. Notably, there are significant differences in the relationships among these variables across different groups. Specifically, school climate does not have a significant impact on the academic achievement of certain students, while teacher‐student interaction exerts a stable and important positive influence on the academic achievement of all students, particularly benefiting those in the lower‐scoring group.