BECE. Newsletter 

Vol.20, No.2, 2025, BECE 1989 

 

 

 

 

The Effect of Perceived Parental Trust and Perceived 

Teacher Trust on Learning Powers in Junior Second-

ary Students: The Mediating Role of Self-Esteem 

By Fu, G. 
Correspondence to: Gan Fu, Yancheng Teachers University, China. E-mail: 

psyfgan@ 163.com 

ARENTS and teachers are “significant others” in the academic lives of 

secondary school students, and trust from the former can help enhance 

motivation levels and develop positive self-understanding in the latter. Draw-

ing on psychological capital theory and self-worth theory, this study con-

ducts an in-depth investigation of the effect of perceived parental trust and 

teacher trust on learning powers in junior secondary students as well as fac-

tors influencing the effect. 

Research Findings: 

• Perceived trust was a significantly positive predictor of student 

learning powers. The students’ perception of trust from their par-

ents and teachers could heighten their self-efficacy and initiative 

in learning. 

• Self-esteem had a mediating effect on the relationship between 

perceived trust and learning powers in the students. Boosting 

self-esteem could enhance the students’ learning powers by con-

tributing to the development of initiative, self-regulation, emo-

tional management, and mental resilience in this group. 

• Perceived teacher trust had a more significantly positive effect on 

learning powers than perceived parental trust in the secondary 

school students. While their perception of parental trust was fa-

vorable for the heightening of their self-valuation and self-

efficacy and positively impacted their learning powers, trust from 

the teachers posed a more direct influence on their learning pow-

ers by impacting their self-esteem and self-concept because this 

group tend to idolize their teachers. 

Educational Implications: 

• It is important for teachers to put ample trust in their students to 

increase their psychological capital, which will, in turn, raise 

their learning powers. To this end, teachers need to cultivate a 

real enthusiasm for the teaching profession, endeavor to create a 

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Vol.20, No.2, 2025, BECE 1990 

classroom atmosphere full of trust, and pay respect to the indi-

viduality of each student. 

• Parents should adopt scientific parenting styles to assist with 

learning power development in their children. It is important for 

them to foster the children’ self-worth in day-to-day lives, to pro-

tect their self-esteem by reducing social comparison and helping 

them identifying personal strengths, and to pay attention to self-

education to sustain effective communication with their children. 

 

Source: Journal of Education Science of Hunan Normal University, 2025; 24(02):114-

122.