BECE. Newsletter 

Vol.19, No.1, 2025, BECE 1929 

 

 

 

 

Teacher-Student Relationships and Pupil Math 

Anxiety: A Longitudinal Study 

By Ma, M., Lei, Y., & Zhang, L. 
Correspondence to: Li Zhang, Central University of Finance and Economics, 

China. E-mail: Lilyking_0717@126.com  

HE TEACHER-STUDENT relationship plays a supporting role in stu-

dent learning. Are there any mutual influences between the teacher-

student relationship and student math anxiety? This study aims to examine 

the longitudinal interaction between the teacher-student relationship and 

math anxiety in primary school students with a sample of 221 pupils aged 9 

and 10 from X School in Chongqing City in China. The study went through 

two sessions of investigation with an interval of one year. 

Cross-lagged panel analysis is conducted using the data from the two 

sessions of investigation. After controlling for variables including sex, age, 

math test results, learning anxiety, and social anxiety of the student, the study 

finds that there exist longitudinal, mutual influences between positive teach-

er-student relationships and pupil math anxiety. Specifically, positive teach-

er-student relationships are negatively correlated with math anxiety in pupils; 

the current math anxiety of the pupil significantly negatively predicts their 

positive relationships with future math teachers. Meanwhile, despite that pos-

itive teacher-student relationships cannot directly predict the future anxiety 

level of the student; they are indirectly and inversely related to the latter via 

the mediation of positive coping strategies. 

 
Source: Psychological Development and Education, 2025; 2025(3):377-385. 

T 

mailto:Lilyking_0717@126.com