Need-supportive teaching practices and student-perceived need fulfillment in low socioeconomic status elementary schools: The moderating effect of anxiety and academic achievement

Connell and Wellborn's Self-System Model of Motivational Development (SSMMD; 1991) posits that structure, autonomy support, and involvement from teachers influence their students' perceptions of competence, autonomy, and relatedness. However, this model has rarely been tested in low socioeconomic elementary school students presenting academic and psychological difficulties. To fill this gap, this study examined whether student anxiety and academic achievement can moderate the association between teaching practices and student self-perceptions. A sample of 424 students and 45 teachers from five elementary schools located in low socioeconomic neighborhoods participated in the study over two consecutive years. Multilevel path analysis revealed that while most students felt competent and related to their teacher in highly structured and warm classrooms, anxious and low-achieving students benefited even more from teachers' structuring practices compared to their non-anxious or higher-achieving peers. Globally, our results partially support the application of the SSMMD for more vulnerable students.