Effect of Leaders’ Motivation and Social Support on Students’ Social-Emotional Competence and Its Impact on Behavioral Development and Academic Performance
Keywords:
Social-Emotional Competence, Leaders’ Motivation, Social Support, Behavioral Development, Academic Performance, Social-Emotional Learning Theory, Secondary Education, Higher Secondary EducationAbstract
The purpose of this study was to examine the effect of leaders’ motivation and social support on students’ social-emotional competence and its impact on behavioral development and academic performance within the secondary and higher secondary education system of Pakistan. The study further investigated the mediating role of social-emotional competence between leaders’ motivation, social support, behavioral development, and academic performance. The research was grounded in Social-Emotional Learning Theory and educational behavioral perspectives, emphasizing the importance of emotionally supportive educational environments for holistic student development. The study adopted a positivist research philosophy and utilized a quantitative cross-sectional research design. Primary data were collected through structured questionnaires from 1200 respondents enrolled in public and private secondary and higher secondary educational institutions across Pakistan. SPSS software was used for statistical analysis including descriptive statistics, reliability analysis, Pearson correlation, multiple regression analysis, and mediation analysis through bootstrapping techniques. The findings revealed that leaders’ motivation and social support significantly and positively influence students’ social-emotional competence. The results further demonstrated that social-emotional competence has a strong positive impact on behavioral development and academic performance. Mediation analysis confirmed that social-emotional competence significantly mediates the relationship between leaders’ motivation, social support, behavioral development, and academic performance. The study concludes that emotionally supportive leadership and strong social support systems play a critical role in strengthening students’ emotional competence, behavioral maturity, and educational success. The study contributes theoretically by extending the application of Social-Emotional Learning Theory within the Pakistani educational context and empirically establishing the mediating role of social-emotional competence in student development outcomes. Practically, the study highlights the need for educational institutions to integrate social-emotional learning practices, supportive leadership approaches, counselling systems, and emotionally responsive educational policies to promote holistic student development and sustainable academic success.
References
Alzahrani, M., Alharbi, M., & Alodwani, A. (2019). The role of social-emotional learning in developing student competencies. Journal of Education and Learning, 8(1), 47–58.
Anliak, S., & Sahin, S. (2010). Children’s social and emotional development in early education settings. Early Child Development and Care, 180(8), 1075–1089. [https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430802640328](https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430802640328)
Ashdown, D. M., & Bernard, M. E. (2011). Can explicit instruction in social and emotional learning improve student academic outcomes? International Journal of Emotional Education, 3(1), 12–19.
Bandura, A. (1986). Social foundations of thought and action: A social cognitive theory. Prentice-Hall.
Breeman, L. D., Wubbels, T., Van Lier, P. A. C., Verhulst, F. C., Van der Ende, J., Maras, A., & Tick, N. T. (2015). Teacher–student relationships and school adjustment. Journal of School Psychology, 53(5), 347–361. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2015.06.003](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2015.06.003)
Brock, L. L., & Curby, T. W. (2014). Emotional support and classroom behavior in early education. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 29(4), 468–478. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.07.002](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ecresq.2014.07.002)
Bronfenbrenner, U. (1979). The ecology of human development: Experiments by nature and design. Harvard University Press.
Bryman, A., & Bell, E. (2015). Business research methods (4th ed.). Oxford University Press.
CASEL. (2020). What is social and emotional learning (SEL)? Collaborative for Academic, Social, and Emotional Learning. [https://casel.org](https://casel.org)
Cohen, J., & Mendez, J. L. (2009). Emotion regulation and peer relationships in school settings. Developmental Psychology, 45(5), 1412–1423.
Collie, R. J., Martin, A. J., Malmberg, L. E., & Ginns, P. (2019). Academic buoyancy, social-emotional competence, and engagement. Learning and Instruction, 60, 54–64. [https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2018.12.002](https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2018.12.002)
Creswell, J. W., & Creswell, J. D. (2018). Research design: Qualitative, quantitative, and mixed methods approaches (5th ed.). Sage.
Cook, C. R., Dearing, E., & Zachrisson, H. D. (2018). Classroom and home influences on child development. Child Development, 89(2), 343–360.
Denham, S. A., Bassett, H. H., & Zinsser, K. (2012). Early childhood teachers as socializers of emotional competence. Early Education and Development, 23(4), 546–567. [https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2011.596460](https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2011.596460)
Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis. Child Development, 82(1), 405–432. [https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x](https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x)
Eccles, J. S., & Roeser, R. W. (2011). Schools as developmental contexts. Journal of Research on Adolescence, 21(1), 225–241.
Etikan, I., Musa, S. A., & Alkassim, R. S. (2016). Convenience sampling in social science research. Journal of Social Science Research, 5(1), 1–4.
Goleman, D. (1995). Emotional intelligence. Bantam Books.
Hair, J. F., Black, W. C., Babin, B. J., & Anderson, R. E. (2019). Multivariate data analysis (8th ed.). Cengage.
Hattie, J. (2009). Visible learning. Routledge.
Howell, J. L., Bullington, K. E., Gregory, D. E., Williams, M. R., & Nuckols, W. L. (2022). Transformational leadership in higher education programs. Journal of Higher Education Policy and Leadership Studies, 3(1).
Joshi, A., Kale, S., Chandel, S., & Pal, D. K. (2015). Likert scale: Explored and explained. British Journal of Applied Science & Technology, 7(4), 396–403.
Lippard, C. N., La Paro, K. M., Rouse, H. L., & Crosby, D. A. (2018). Classroom quality and teacher–child relationships. Early Education and Development, 29(3), 373–390.
Negeri, D. D., Wakjira, G. G., & Kant, S. (2023). Is Strategic Leadership having a mediating role in Ethiopia’s SMEs sector when it comes to Entrepreneurial Skill and Motivation? A Multivariate Investigation. IRASD Journal of Management, 5(2), 74-86.
Ng, P. T., & Bull, R. (2018). Social-emotional learning in schools. Educational Review, 70(4), 1–18.
Nix, R. L., Bierman, K. L., Domitrovich, C. E., & Gill, S. (2013). Promoting school readiness through social-emotional learning. Developmental Psychology, 49(5), 1107–1120.
OECD. (2015). Skills for social progress: The power of social and emotional skills. OECD Publishing. [https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264226159-en](https://doi.org/10.1787/9789264226159-en)
Pallant, J. (2020). SPSS survival manual (7th ed.). McGraw-Hill.
Pianta, R. C. (1999). Enhancing relationships between children and teachers. American Psychological Association.
Rivers, S. E., Brackett, M. A., Reyes, M. R., Elbertson, N. A., & Salovey, P. (2013). Improving emotional climate in classrooms. Emotion, 13(1), 62–72.
Ryan, R. M., & Deci, E. L. (2000). Self-determination theory. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68–78.
Saunders, M., Lewis, P., & Thornhill, A. (2019). Research methods for business students. Pearson.
Sekaran, U., & Bougie, R. (2016). Research methods for business (7th ed.). Wiley.
Sutherland, K. S., Lewis-Palmer, T., Stichter, J. P., & Morgan, P. L. (2018). Teacher–student interaction and behavior. Journal of Emotional and Behavioral Disorders, 26(2), 85–95.
UNESCO. (2016). Education 2030: Incheon declaration and framework for action. UNESCO.
Warren, L. L. (2021). The importance of teacher leadership skills in the classroom. Education Journal, 10(1), 8-15.
Wentzel, K. R. (1998). Social relationships and academic motivation. Journal of Educational Psychology, 90(2), 202–209.
White, S. (2015). Teacher motivation and student engagement. Educational Studies, 41(2), 123–140.
Wu, X., et al. (2018). Teacher support and student emotional development. School Psychology International, 39(3), 1–15.
