Teacher feedback linked to stronger social and emotional skills
Teacher feedback is a routine part of classroom interaction, providing students with the opportunity to learn about teachers' opinions of their actions and achievements. Teacher feedback powerfully influences students'learning, achievement, and social development. However, it remains unclear whether teacher feedback in the classroom affects student social and emotional skills and, if so, what types of feedback can are most beneficial. Furthermore, if teacher feedback is positively related to student social and emotional skills, the factors that play vital roles in this relationship should be explored.
To analyze whether student perceptions of teacher feedback differ across student groups, whether teacher feedback affects students' social and emotional skills, as well as the influence mechanism of teacher feedback, a team of researchers comprising Haili Cui from Shanghai Jiao Tong University, Mengmeng Zhang from Shanghai Normal University, and Xingyuan Gao from East China Normal University conducted a quantitative analysis. Their study was published online on June 1, 2026 in the ECNU Review of Education.
This study drew on data from 65,612 students in 15 cities who participated in the SSES 2023, an international survey organized by the Organisation for Economic Co-operation and Development. The sample comprised younger (10-year-olds) and older (15-year-olds) cohorts. Given the hierarchical structure of the dataset, the researchers employed a three-level model to account for its nested characteristics. Hierarchical linear model analysis and a mediating effect test were performed to examine the relationships among the variables. Teacher feedback was divided into three categories, namely feedback about students' strengths, areas needing improvement, and strategies to improve their performance. Social and emotional skills were evaluated using the OECD framework, which includes five dimensions.
The researchers found that gender, age, immigrant status, and reading grades were associated with student perceptions of teacher feedback. However, the effects of immigrant status, socioeconomic status, and math grades on student perceptions of feedback differed between 10- and 15-year-olds. "Our findings suggest that variations in student perceptions of teacher feedback across different student groups. For instance, the 10-year-olds in our study received more feedback," Cui et al. concluded.
The researchers also found positive associations between teacher feedback and the five domains of student social and emotional skills. Feedback about students' strengths, areas needing improvement, and strategies to improve their performance were each positively related to these skills.
The researchers further reported that teacher feedback affected student social and emotional skills through the teacher–student relationship, after controlling for students' background characteristics. This finding reveals that teacher feedback provides students with opportunities to understand teachers' perceptions of their personal characteristics and school performance, helping them feel respected and understood. In turn, this process improves students' favorable impressions of teachers, which contributes to more positive teacher–student relationships and support the development of students' social and emotional skills.
"Considering the significant value of this feedback in students' promoting academic performance and social and emotional skills, teachers could provide students with feedback that focuses on their personal strengths, areas for improvement, and actionable strategies for improving their academic performance," suggested Cui et al.
The insights gained from this study may provide valuable suggestions for teachers school leaders, and policymakers seeking to strengthen adolescents' social and emotional development through everyday classroom practice.
Journal
ECNU Review of Education
Method of Research
Survey
Subject of Research
People
Article Title
Teacher Feedback and Student Social and Emotional Skills: An Empirical Study Based on Second Round of SSES 2023 Data
Article Publication Date
21-Jun-2026
COI Statement
The authors declared no potential conflicts of interest with respect to the research, authorship, and/or publication of this article.
No comments:
Post a Comment