Teacher-student relationship and academic achievement in China: Evidence from a three-level meta-analysis

Past studies of the relation between teacher-student relationship (TSR) and students’ academic achievement (SAA) yielded mixed results, so this study determined the overall link between TSR and SAA, along with their moderators. This three-level meta-analysis of 90 independent effect sizes in 74 empirical studies of 233,961 students showed an overall positive link between TSR and SAA in China (r  =  .259, 95% CI  =  [.227; .290]). This relationship was higher in: (a) China's central region (.305) than its eastern (.238) or western regions (.166); (b) senior high school (.345), followed by junior high school (.251), then primary school (.221); (c) English (.302), followed by math (.272), Chinese (.269), and science (.202); and (d) females (B  =  .507) than males. These results suggest the value of improving teacher-student relationships in policies and practices.