CLASSROOM CLIMATE AS A MEDIATING MECHANISM BETWEEN TEACHER-CENTERED INSTRUCTIONAL METHODS AND UNDERGRADUATE STUDENTS’ SOCIO-EMOTIONAL LEARNING COMPETENCE: EVIDENCE FROM PAKISTANI HIGHER EDUCATION

Abstract

This study explored the role of classroom climate as a mediator between teacher-centered instructional approaches and socio-emotional learning competence of undergraduate students in higher education in Pakistan. A quantitative cross sectional survey was carried out using proportionate sampling of 394 undergraduate students from four public sector universities of Khyber Pakhtunkhwa, Pakistan. Descriptive statistics, Pearson correlations and Hayes' PROCESS Model 4 were used to analyze the data. Classroom climate was positively associated with teacher-centered instructional methods (r = .147, p = .003), and socio-emotional learning competence was positively associated with classroom climate (r = .384, p < .001). The mediation analysis revealed that teacher-centered instructional methods had an indirect effect on the socio-emotional learning competence through the classroom climate (B = .055, Boot SE = .019, 95% CI [.018, .094]). There was a partial mediation effect as the direct effect was still significant (B = .104, p = .030). The results of this study indicate that classroom climate is a significant explanatory mechanism between instructional practices and undergraduate students' socio-emotional competence and underscore the significance of positive classrooms in higher education.