Perceived Teacher Support and Intentions to Quit Upper Secondary School: Direct, and Indirect Associations via Emotional Engagement and Boredom

Teachers are crucial agents in adolescents' school life, and teachers' roles involve both academic and socio-emotional functions. This study examined how first-year students in upper secondary school in Norway (n = 1379) perceive aspects of teacher support (emotional support, feedback quality, and autonomy granting), and the associations with intentions to quit school. Based on priori considerations, direct associations of teacher support with intentions to quit and indirect associations via emotional engagement and boredom were tested through structural equation modeling. The model was adjusted for GPA, gender, immigrant background, and study track. Results indicated that perceived emotional support was the most central aspect of teacher support, as revealed by both indirect and direct associations with intentions to quit. Feedback quality and autonomy granting were weakly and indirectly associated with intentions to quit. Boredom was an important factor associated with intentions to quit.