This study aimed to investigate the role of teacher support and equity in the relationship between teacher’s autonomy-promoting behavior and students’ learning strategies. The approach examines the direct relationship between teacher’s autonomy-supportive behavior and students’ learning strategies and via perceived teacher support. It also discusses the effect of perceived equity for the relationship between autonomy-supportive behavior in teacher’s and teacher support. Data were obtained from 24 secondary schools in nine Lithuanian municipalities with poor socioeconomic level contexts ( N = 632 pupils). The findings revealed that teacher’s autonomy-supportive behavior is directly associated to student’s greater use of learning strategies, as well as through a mediator—student’s perceptions of teacher support. The association between teacher’s autonomy-supportive behavior and teacher support is moderated by students’ perceived equity so that the positive relationship is stronger for students with a higher than with a lower perceived equity. This study adds to the understanding of the importance of teacher behavior for students’ learning by concentrating on equity, which is especially essential for students from low-income families. Teachers may foster equity by providing more possibilities for autonomy for all students, creating a supportive classroom environment and inviting students to be active participants in the learning process.

The COVID-19 pandemic had a profound effect on the system of education—gaps in students’ learning, their socioemotional and mental health problems and growing inequality have been recorded. These problems confront students from low socioeconomic status (SES) in particular, therefore supportive relationships with teachers are of great importance. The growth mindset, as a student’s belief that he or she can develop his or her capabilities, can help him or her cope with arising difficulties. Based on the first hypothesis, this study sought to establish whether teacher support is positively related to student’s achievement. Our second hypothesis is as follows: a student’s growth mindset moderates the positive effect of teacher support on students’ achievement; this relationship is stronger when the student’s growth mindset is higher. The research sample consisted of 163 students from municipalities of Lithuania that are regarded as socioeconomically disadvantaged. The research results show positive correlations between teacher’ support, student’s growth mindset and achievement. Additionally, the role of student’s growth mindset as a moderator between teacher support and the student’s achievement was established. Statistically significant differences between high-SES and low-SES students when comparing their growth mindsets and achievement prove that it is important to enhance confidence of low-SES students in their capabilities and the potential to develop them.

The sustainable school is important in today’s education system to ensure the well-being of younger generations. This research work attempted to empirically test the different predictions of a sustainable school environment for secondary school students’ engagement in learning. The following objectives were formulated: to analyse the differences of sustainable school environment and engagement in learning based on gender and SES background; to analyse the relationship between sustainable school environment variables and engagement in learning; and to examine how sustainable school environment variables could predict students’ emotional and behavioural engagement. The research sample consisted of students from three districts of Lithuania with a disadvantaged SES context. We assessed the sustainable school environment variables and students’ emotional and behavioural engagement in learning with the What Is Happening in this Class? (WIHIC) questionnaire, a short form of the Learning Climate Questionnaire (LCQ), and the Student Engagement Scale. The results showed a statistically significant difference in behavioural engagement between boys and girls. There are no differences in sustainable school environment variables and engagement in relation to SES. Teachers’ autonomy supportive behaviour perceived by students has the strongest correlation with emotional and behavioural engagement in learning. Thus, in the Lithuanian schools surveyed, a sustainable school environment is developing.

This study explored a moderated mediation model, which is based on the assumption about the direct relationship between teachers’ autonomy-supportive behaviours and students’ learning strategies and via perceived classroom management as well as the effect of growth mindset for the relationships between (1) teachers’ autonomy-supportive behaviours and learning strategies applied by students and (2) perceived classroom management and learning strategies applied by students. Data were collected from 23 secondary schools in municipalities in Lithuania with low SES (socioeconomic status) contexts (N = 581 students). The results showed that teachers’ autonomy-supportive behaviours are directly and positively related to the increased use of learning strategies applied by the student. The perceived classroom management mediates the relationship between teachers’ autonomy-supportive behaviours and learning strategies applied by the students. In this case, we have an inconsistent mediation, so the mediator acts as a suppressor (the indirect path through mediator is negative, while the direct is positive). The growth mindset does not moderate the relationship between perceived teachers’ autonomy supportive behaviours and the students’ use of learning strategies, but growth mindset moderates the relationship between perceived classroom management and learning strategies applied by the student. For students with a lower or moderate growth mindset, greater perceived classroom management is related to the lesser use of learning strategies. However, for those with a higher growth mindset, greater perceived classroom management is related to greater use of learning strategies. This study contributes to the understanding of the importance of teachers’ behaviours for students’ learning by focusing on classroom management and growth mindset.

Low socioeconomic status (SES) is often seen as a risk factor for lower academic achievement, so this study explains how teacher support and equity are related to higher student engagement and achievement in low SES school contexts. Based on the results, student behavioural engagement is related to their achievement. The results of the multiple regression analysis show that teacher support and equity predict student emotional engagement statistically significantly, while behavioural engagement predicts only equity. No significant teacher support and equity prognostic values were found for student achievements. The study’s results encourage further research and the search for answers to the question of what kind of teacher behaviour creates a favourable learning environment for all students in low SES context schools.

Teacher psychological empowerment is one of the main aspects of their effective job performance, job satisfaction and students’ higher academic achievement. Unfortunately, there is still little research analysing different organisational factors fostering teacher psychological empowerment. To address this gap, this study asks the following question: how is teacher psychological empowerment associated with organisational factors? The research was performed in 33 schools from 9 municipalities with low SES contexts in Lithuania, and 292 teachers participated in the study. The results of the study show that the school should be viewed as a system in which organisational factors are interrelated and connected with teacher psychological empowerment. It was determined that the purposes of school as organisation predict the general psychological empowerment and teachers’ perceived meaning of work. Two organisational factors—purposes and leadership—predict teacher psychological empowerment to make decisions, and teachers’ confidence in competence is predicted by three organisational factors: purposes, relationships, and rewards.