Perceived teacher support in ideological and political education and life satisfaction among Chinese university students: an indirect association through presence of meaning in life

Abstract

Background Supportive teacher–student relationships are increasingly recognized as relevant to university students’ psychological functioning, but their role within ideological and political education (IPE) remains comparatively underexamined. This study examined the associations among perceived teacher support in IPE, presence of meaning in life, and life satisfaction among Chinese university students, with particular attention to the indirect association through presence of meaning. Methods A cross-sectional survey was conducted with 365 undergraduate students recruited from three higher education institutions in Guangxi, China. Perceived teacher support was assessed using a contextualized version of the Perceived Teacher Support Scale across instrumental, emotional, informational, and appraisal support, while presence of meaning and life satisfaction were measured using established scales. Confirmatory factor analysis and structural equation modeling were used to evaluate the measurement and hypothesized structural models. Indirect associations were examined using 5,000 bias-corrected bootstrap resamples. Results The hypothesized structural model showed good fit, χ2(553) = 810.93, CFI = 0.959, TLI = 0.956, RMSEA = 0.036, and SRMR = 0.053. Perceived teacher support was positively associated with presence of meaning in life (β = 0.305, 95% bias-corrected bootstrap CI [0.181, 0.423]) and life satisfaction (β = 0.191, 95% BC bootstrap CI [0.076, 0.306]). Presence of meaning in life was also positively associated with life satisfaction (β = 0.421, 95% BC bootstrap CI [0.299, 0.534]). A significant indirect association between perceived teacher support and life satisfaction through presence of meaning in life was observed (β = 0.128, 95% BC bootstrap CI [0.073, 0.199]). The model explained 9.3% of the variance in presence of meaning in life and 26.2% of the variance in life satisfaction. Conclusion Perceived teacher support within university IPE was associated with both students’ presence of meaning and life satisfaction, and part of the association between perceived teacher support and life satisfaction was statistically represented through presence of meaning within the specified model. The findings extend teacher-support research into a value-oriented educational context and highlight the relevance of students’ perceptions of supportive teacher–student relationships to presence of meaning and broader evaluations of life.