Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology
Supportive and controlling teacher authority, academic voice, and self-regulated learning among undergraduates at a Saudi public university
Khalid Abdu M. Al-Makhalid 1 *
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1 Psychology Department, College of Education, Umm Al-Qura University, Makkah, Saudi Arabia
* Corresponding Author
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Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology, Online First, pp. -
https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202646143

Article Type: Research Article

Published Online: 10 Aug 2026

Views: 2 | Downloads: 2

ABSTRACT
Using an explanatory sequential mixed-methods design, this study examined whether undergraduates’ retrospective perceptions of psychologically controlling teaching during school were associated with their current academic voice and self-regulated learning. It also explored how students interpreted supportive and controlling enactments of teacher authority during the transition to higher education. Quantitative data were collected from 312 students through a 30-item Arabic questionnaire. The psychological-control domain was reverse-scored, so higher scores indicated lower perceived control. Next, 18 students were purposively selected from a separate, unlinked volunteer pool, with maximum variation sought across gender, college or discipline, and year of study. Their semi-structured Arabic interviews were analysed using reflexive thematic analysis. Higher reverse-scored psychological-control scores were associated with stronger academic voice (r = .46, β = .46, p < .001, R² = .21) and self-regulated learning (r = .42, β = .42, p < .001, R² = .18). In the interviews, supportive authority was characterised by clarity, fairness, responsiveness, and respectful correction, whereas controlling authority involved pressure, public criticism, and restricted dialogue. Integration showed how the qualitative accounts explained and qualified these group-level associations by connecting authority with the perceived safety or risk of participation and with internally or externally directed responsibility. Because these interpretive patterns were not measured quantitatively, they should not be read as tested mediators. Overall, the findings distinguish lower psychological control from supportive or legitimate authority and support a relational, context-sensitive, and non-causal account of pedagogical authority that recognises variation among Saudi undergraduates.
KEYWORDS
academic voice higher education transition pedagogical authority psychological control Saudi Arabia self-regulated learning
In-text citation: (Al-Makhalid, 2026)
Reference: Al-Makhalid, K. A. M. (2026). Supportive and controlling teacher authority, academic voice, and self-regulated learning among undergraduates at a Saudi public university. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202646143
In-text citation: (1), (2), (3), etc.
Reference: Al-Makhalid KAM. Supportive and controlling teacher authority, academic voice, and self-regulated learning among undergraduates at a Saudi public university. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology. 2026. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202646143
In-text citation: (1), (2), (3), etc.
Reference: Al-Makhalid KAM. Supportive and controlling teacher authority, academic voice, and self-regulated learning among undergraduates at a Saudi public university. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology. 2026. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202646143
In-text citation: (Al-Makhalid, 2026)
Reference: Al-Makhalid, Khalid Abdu M.. "Supportive and controlling teacher authority, academic voice, and self-regulated learning among undergraduates at a Saudi public university". Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology (2026). https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202646143
In-text citation: (Al-Makhalid, 2026)
Reference: Al-Makhalid, K. A. M. (2026). Supportive and controlling teacher authority, academic voice, and self-regulated learning among undergraduates at a Saudi public university. Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202646143
In-text citation: (Al-Makhalid, 2026)
Reference: Al-Makhalid, Khalid Abdu M. "Supportive and controlling teacher authority, academic voice, and self-regulated learning among undergraduates at a Saudi public university". Journal of Pedagogical Sociology and Psychology, 2026. https://doi.org/10.33902/JPSP.202646143
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