Investigating the role of perceived social support and quality of student-teacher relationships in academic involvement of physical education students

Perceived social support and the quality of student-teacher relationships are among the most important factors of success in higher education. The present study investigated the role of perceived social support and the quality of student-teacher relationships in academic involvement of physical education students. This study was a descriptive study, and its statistical population included all physical education students studying at Mohaghegh Ardabili University in the first semester of the academic year 2020. A total of 170 of these students were randomly selected by stratified sampling and were requested to answer the questionnaires of academic engagement, perceived social support, and the quality of student-teacher relationships. Data were analyzed using Pearson correlation coefficient and multiple regression tests. The results showed that academic engagement has a positive significant relationship with: total score of perceived social support (r = 0.35; p <0.001), family components (r = 0.32; p <0.001), friends (r = 0.17; p <0.05), support of others (r = 0.32; p <0.001), and the quality of student-teacher relations (r = 0.63; p <0.001). The results of regression analysis showed that predictive variables predict about 43 percent of the variance of academic engagement. Based on our findings, educational system planners and education practitioners are recommended to hold hands-on educational workshops in universities to teach ways of creating a suitable educational environment and promoting supportive behaviors in student-teacher relationships.