Background: Despite extensive research on the relationship between teaching practices and learning outcomes, limited attention has been given to their potential links with students’ mental health.
Aims: This study investigates the relationships between three teaching practice types – teacher-centered, student-centered, and student-dominated – and both student mental health complaints and academic achievement. It furthers explores variations in these associations based on students’ socioeconomic status (SES).
Sample: The analysis includes 4573 grade 9 students (aged 15–16 years) in the Swedish comprehensive school system.
Methods: Employing structural equation modelling techniques, we analyze a dataset comprising students’cognitive test scores, their perceptions of classroom processes, self-reported mental health complaints, as well as register data on teacher-assigned grades and parental education.
Results: Teacher-centered practices are positively associated with academic achievements but lack robust linkswith mental health complaints. Conversely, student-centered practices are positively associated with academicachievements and correlate with lower mental health complaint frequencies. However, student-dominated practices demonstrate poor relationships with both mental health and academic achievements. Limited variations based on students’ social background reveal only two differing associations between low and high SES students: teacher-centered teaching shows stronger academic achievement associations for low SES students, while student-dominated teaching is more adversely linked to low SES students’ mental health.
Conclusions: The results affirm the benefits of both teacher- and student-centered teaching practices for academic achievement while cautioning against excessive self-directed teaching. Importantly, the study highlights the role of instructional approaches in shaping not only academic outcomes but also students’ mental health.
Elsevier, 2024. Vol. 92, article id 101937