The impact of student-teacher and student-peer relationships on academic performance: the mediating effects of study effort and engagement

This dataset is part of a larger research project investigating university students’ experiences during emergency remote teaching due to the COVID-19 pandemic. A longitudinal cohort study among university students from the Netherlands was performed during the academic year 2020/2021 with three points of measurement, i.e., t1 = November/December 2020, t2 = March 2021, and t3 = June/July 2021. Data were collected through online surveys programmed in Qualtrics.The dataset includes data from 613 undergraduate students who fully completed the surveys at t1 and t2. Variables that are included in this dataset are: demographic and study-related variables (t1), student-teacher relationships (t1+t2), quality of interaction with peers (t1+t2), study effort (t1+t2), study engagement (t1+t2), and academic performance/GPA (t2).<b>Abstract</b><br>Despite the recognised importance of student-teacher and student-peer relationships as well as study effort and engagement in predicting academic performance, the interplay between these predictors has received limited attention in higher education research. Building on Study Demands-Resources theories, this longitudinal study explores the favourable impact of student-teacher and student-peer relationships on academic performance (GPA), mediated by study effort and engagement. In total, 613 undergraduate students (68% female; mean age 20 years) from all 13 Dutch public universities completed two online surveys with a 3.5-month interval. Student-teacher and student-peer relationships, study effort, and study engagement were measured at two time points (t1 and t2), while GPA was only measured at t2. Correlation and path analyses revealed that better relationships with both teachers and peers were longitudinally associated with a higher GPA, mediated by more study effort and engagement. This study contributes to the literature by employing longitudinal data, offering stronger causal evidence for processes underlying academic performance. It underscores the importance of fostering positive relationships with both teachers and peers to improve student performance. The findings suggest that educational institutions should implement strategies to strengthen these relationships, thereby enhancing study effort and engagement, ultimately leading to improved academic performance.

本数据集隶属于一项更大规模的研究项目，该项目旨在探究大学生在新冠疫情期间紧急远程教学阶段的学习体验。本研究于2020/2021学年针对荷兰大学生开展了一项纵向队列研究，共设置三次数据采集节点，即t1=2020年11月/12月、t2=2021年3月以及t3=2021年6月/7月。数据通过在Qualtrics平台开发的在线问卷进行采集。本数据集包含613名在t1和t2节点完整完成问卷的本科生数据，涵盖的变量包括：人口统计学与学业相关变量（t1节点采集）、师生关系（t1与t2节点均采集）、同伴互动质量（t1与t2节点均采集）、学习努力程度（t1与t2节点均采集）、学习投入度（t1与t2节点均采集）以及学业表现/平均绩点（Grade Point Average, GPA，t2节点采集）。
**摘要**
尽管学界已认可师生关系、同伴关系以及学习努力程度、学习投入度在预测学业表现中的重要性，但现有高等教育研究对这些预测变量间的交互作用关注不足。基于学习需求-资源理论（Study Demands-Resources），本项纵向研究探讨了师生关系与同伴关系以学习努力程度和学习投入度为中介，对学业表现（GPA）产生的积极影响。本次研究共招募荷兰全部13所公立大学的613名本科生（女性占比68%，平均年龄20岁），所有参与者均完成了间隔3.5个月的两次在线问卷。师生关系、同伴关系、学习努力程度以及学习投入度均在两个时间节点（t1与t2）进行测量，而GPA仅在t2节点采集。相关分析与路径分析结果显示，与教师和同伴建立良好关系，可通过提升学习努力程度与学习投入度，在纵向维度上与更高的GPA成绩呈显著相关。本研究通过采用纵向数据为学业表现背后的作用机制提供了更有力的因果证据，丰富了相关学术文献。本研究强调了构建正向师生与同伴关系对提升学生学业表现的重要性。研究结果表明，教育机构应制定相关策略以强化此类正向关系，进而提升学生的学习努力程度与学习投入度，最终实现学业表现的改善。