Teacher social-emotional competence plays a crucial role in teacher professional development as it is associated with effective stress alleviation at work. However, how and under what conditions teacher social-emotional competence contributes to job burnout is a black box. This study aimed to explored the impact of teacher social-emotional competence on job burnout, focusing on the chain mediation effects of teacher-student relationships and teacher well-being. For this undertaking, stratified random sampling was used and the questionnaire was filled out by 990 teachers in 14 primary schools in Beijing. We analyzed these data using structural equation modeling (SEM). The findings suggested that the teacher social-emotional competence and job burnout were negatively correlated, verifying that teacher social-emotional competence can influence job burnout through the separate and chain mediation effects of teacher-student relationship and teacher well-being. In addition, the separate mediation role of the teacher-student relationship had the most significant effect of all mediation paths. To alleviate teacher job burnout and promote the sustainability of teachers’ professional development, we suggested that emphasizing the development of teacher social-emotional competence and the sustained enhancement of teacher well-being, as well as focusing on improving teacher-student relationship.

In the 21st century, dominated by artificial intelligence and technological innovation, scientific literacy has become a core competency for global citizens. As a crucial environment for student development, the family not only provides ascribed capital (e.g., economic capital, cultural capital) but also offers emotional support, influencing students' self-directed learning efficacy, thereby playing a pivotal role in cultivating scientific literacy that transcends traditional perceptions. Grounded in social cognitive theory, this study utilizes PISA 2022 data from six East Asian regions (China's Hong Kong SAR, China's Macao SAR, China's Taiwan Province, Singapore, South Korea, Japan), involving 34,968 students to investigate how family background influences scientific literacy. The results indicate: (1) Family background significantly and positively predicts students' scientific literacy. (2) Students' self-directed learning efficacy partially mediates the relationship between family background and scientific literacy. (3) Family support moderates the first half of this mediating pathway. Based on these findings, we recommend: prioritizing support for disadvantaged family backgrounds to promote equity in scientific literacy; enhancing self-directed learning efficacy to foster higher-order scientific thinking; and emphasizing family emotional support to cultivate a nurturing home environment.