Academic navigation or emotional nourishment: the mechanism of teachers' social-emotional competence on college students' social-emotional competence

Although teachers' social-emotional competence (TSEC) is crucial to students' social-emotional competence (SSEC), the mechanisms underlying this influence remain largely unexplored. In this study, we aimed to elucidate these pathways and their boundaries. Utilizing social cognitive theory, this study tested a moderated mediation model in which instrumental and emotional support function as parallel mediators in the TSEC-SSEC relationship, with students' growth mindset acting as a moderator. Data were collected from 563 matched teacher-student pairs across eight Chinese colleges. The results indicated that TSEC significantly and positively predicted SSEC. Both teachers' instrumental and emotional support played parallel mediating roles in the relationship between TSEC and SSEC. Furthermore, students' growth mindset not only moderated the effects of instrumental and emotional support on SSEC but also enhanced the indirect effect of TSEC on SSEC by strengthening these parallel mediating effects. This study reveals the complex pathways through which TSEC enhances students' overall quality, providing theoretical foundations and practical implications for developing teacher competencies and fostering SSEC in higher education settings.