The influence of teacher-student relationship on innovative behavior of graduate student: The role of proactive personality and creative self-efficacy

Abstract

Based on social cognitive theory, the current study builds and verifies a mediated moderation model to explore the influence of teacher-student relationship on innovative behavior of graduate students. The mediating role of creative self-efficacy and the moderating role of proactive personality are also discussed. Sample data for the current study were collected from 367 graduate students and their immediate supervisors at three different times. The empirical test results demonstrate that the teacher-student relationship has a positive impact on graduate students’ innovative behavior. Besides, creative self-efficacy of graduate students exerts a mediating role in the influence of teacher-student relationship on their innovative behavior. In addition, proactive personality of graduate students positively moderates the effect of teacher-student relationship on their creative self-efficacy, which in turn impacts their innovative behaviors. Specifically, the teacher-student relationship could make graduate students with high proactive personality have higher creative self-efficacy level than those with low proactive personality, and finally generate more innovative behavior. Taken together, the findings of the current study offer the academic circle a new perspective to explain how and why teacher-student relationship correlates with students’ innovative behavior. This may also provide specific insights for enhancing the innovative behavior of graduate students in practice.