Perceived teacher support and academic procrastination among elementary school students: The mediating effect of academic self-efficacy and moderating effect of gender

This study investigated the mechanism by which perceived teacher support influences academic procrastination among elementary school students. We conducted a questionnaire survey utilizing the Perceived Teacher Support Scale, Academic Self-efficacy Scale, and Academic Procrastination Scale. We collected 1011 valid responses from fourth- to sixth-grade pupils. The findings indicated a significant negative correlation between perceived teacher support and academic procrastination, with academic self-efficacy fully mediating this relationship. Furthermore, gender moderated both direct and indirect effects of perceived teacher support on academic procrastination; female students showed greater sensitivity to the effect of perceived teacher support on both academic procrastination and academic self-efficacy, whereas male students showed greater sensitivity to academic self-efficacy on academic procrastination. Therefore, perceived teacher support significantly reduces students' academic procrastination primarily by enhancing their academic self-efficacy; however, this relationship is influenced by gender.