Achievement motives and mastery-approach goals serially mediate the relationships between teaching quality and reading achievement: a multilevel mediation model from PISA 2018 data

This study explored the relationships between teaching quality and students’ reading achievements mediated by achievement motives and mastery-approach goals using a Chinese sample derived from the PISA 2018 dataset. A multilevel mediation analysis revealed that teaching quality (i.e., disciplinary climate, cognitive activation, teacher support, and adaptive instruction) and mastery-approach goals were significantly and positively associated with students’ reading achievement. The results also indicated that the connections between the indicators of teaching quality and reading achievement were mediated by mastery-approach goals and that they were serially mediated by work mastery and competitiveness, followed by mastery-approach goals. These findings highlight the critical role of teaching quality in promoting positive academic outcomes and provide implications for promoting quality teaching.