Supporting students' basic needs is associated with better socio-emotional skills across cultures: A self-determination theory perspective

Self-determination theory posits that teachers who support students' basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness (i.e., need-supportive teaching) are better able to facilitate students' optimal academic outcomes. However, the association between need-supportive teaching and students' socio-emotional skills remains relatively underexplored. This study explored the association between need-supportive teaching and students' socio-emotional skills. Additionally, it examined whether such association is similar or different across cultures (i.e., Western Europe, East Central Europe, East Europe, Latin America, English-speaking, Confucian, South and Southeast Asia, and Africa and the Middle East). Data from 519,487 secondary school students were analyzed. Results indicated that need-supportive teaching was positively associated with students' socio-emotional skills across cultures. However, there were slight variations in the magnitude of the relationship, with the strongest association observed in Confucian cultures. These findings highlight the universal importance of need-supportive teaching in developing students' socio-emotional skills and also surface some cross-cultural variations. Theoretical and practical implications are discussed.

Educational relevance statement

When students perceived their teachers to be more supportive of their basic psychological needs for autonomy, competence, and relatedness (i.e., need-supportive teaching), they had higher socio-emotional skills. These skills included self-awareness, self-management, social awareness, relationship skills, and responsible decision-making. This finding held across different cultural contexts, albeit with minor variations in terms of effect sizes. This study highlighted the positive relationship between need-supportive teaching and students' socio-emotional skills across different cultures.