Benefits of positive student teacher relationships It is well-documented in the literature that teacher-student relationships positively affect the students‟ outcomes. Xxxxxxx (1999) in his research “The teacher-student relationship in secondary school: Insights from excluded students,” claims that interactions established between teachers and students are more important for students than the methods and approaches their teachers use for subject teaching. A similar finding is given by Xxxxxx (as cited in Xxxxxxx, 1999) who claims that teacher-student relationships are more influential for students‟ educational experience (particularly for boys) than the curriculum itself. According to Xxxxx and Xxxx (1997), those students who had more supportive relationships in kindergarten with their teachers possessed better working habits and fewer problems later in their school life (p. 108). There is evidence that positive relationships with others including teachers can “buffer and repair areas of the brain from traumatic experience” (Xxxx et al., 2018, p. 227). That is why the students‟ learning process, their academic achievements as well as their discipline at school are considered in the following review as the main areas that are significantly affected by teacher-student relationships.
Benefits of positive student teacher relationships on the students’ learning process Firstly, positive teacher-student relationships are a key element of a warm classroom atmosphere that is necessary to promote students‟ learning. Xxxxxxx and Xxxxxx (2000), claim that supporting relationships between teachers and students are required to establish a comfortable atmosphere to learn. Moreover, those authors add that basic levels of learning, such as remembering and understanding, do not demand well developed relationships between teachers and students, while higher levels of thinking, like analysis, synthesis and evaluation, cannot develop fully without positive teacher-student interactions (Xxxxxxx & Xxxxxx, 2000, p. 217). That means if teachers try to develop their relationships with students, they in turn will develop their thinking skills and eagerness to learn. In addition, there is significant evidence in the literature that demonstrates a considerable influence of teacher-student relationships on students‟ motivation to learn (Xxxx et al., 2018; Xxxxxxx & Xxxxxx, 2000; Xxxxx & Xxxxxx, 2001). Xxxxx and Xxxxxxxxx (1992) conducted research in which they studied a sample of 115 maltreated and 100 non- maltreated children. These two groups of children represented families of similar demographic variables (welfare status, household income, a number of adults at home, and a number of children at home, presence of an adult partner and home, and marital status). As a result, they found out that those children, who had negative experiences with their parents, are more likely to seek psychological closeness and support from another adult. In other words, these maltreated children expressed a greater desire to be closer to their teachers than their non-maltreated counterparts in order to compensate for not having close relationships with their mothers. That comes to another conclusion made by Xxxxx and Xxxxxxxxx (1992), who stated that supportive teacher-student relationships might help maltreated children become more engaged in school and thus more motivated to learn. Another benefit of positive teacher-student relationships is connected with students‟ cognitive learning. If students have a positive attitude to their teacher it facilitates their affective learning which in turn develops their cognitive learning (Xxxxxxx & Xxxxxx, 2000; Xxxx & Xxxxxxx, 1992). That is why, if teachers want their students to perceive the information received in a classroom in an effective way and later efficie...
Benefits of positive student teacher relationships on the students’ academic achievements The findings of multiple studies suggest that supportive teacher-student relationships can positively influence the students‟ academic performance at school (Xxxxxx & Xxxxxxx, 2014; Xxxx et al., 2018; Xxxxx & Xxxxxx, 2001; Xxxxxx & Xxxxxx, 1999; Xxxxxx et al., 2017; Xxxxxxxx, 2018). In fact, the students who have more supportive and close relationships with their teachers are likely to attain better educational results in comparison with those students whose relationships are high in conflicts. Some researchers explain that tendency by the fact that positive teacher-student relationships boost a child‟s academic motivation that in turn leads to better student achievements (Xxxxxx & Xxxxxx, 1999). Others claim that students‟ engagement is the main reason why teacher-student relationships are positively correlated with students‟ academic performance (Xxxxxx et al., 2017). That strong effect of teacher-student relationships on students‟ academic achievements can be seen in a meta-analysis conducted by Xxxxxx in 2009 (as cited in Capern & Xxxxxxx, 2014). According to that analysis of 229 studies, teacher- student relationships indicated an effect size of 0.72 on student academic performance being “11th out of 138 possible influences on student achievement” (p. 47). That means improvements in the quality of teacher-student relationships can lead to better academic results at school.
Benefits of positive student teacher relationships on the students’ discipline at school It is well established in the literature that there is a strong link between teacher- student relationships and students‟ discipline at school (Xxxx et al., 2018; Xxxxxx & Xxxxxx, 1999; Xxxxxx, 2017; Silver, Xxxxxxxx, Xxxxxxxxx, & Xxxxx, 2005; Xxxxxxxx, 2018). Previous research on this area suggests that students having positive relationships with their teachers are more likely to comply with the school‟s rules and requirements. The study conducted by Xxxxxxx and Xxxxxxxx in 1991 with a sample of children who had the most and least positive teacher-student relationships in a kindergarten provides additional support to this hypothesis (as cited in Xxxxxx & Xxxxxx, 1999). According to that research, the students whose relationships with their tutors in kindergarten were characterized by a lot of conflicts subsequently had behavioral problems in their primary school. Thus, the teachers intending to solve the issues of students‟ misbehavior might be mistaken in choosing too harsh of methods of teaching, since better result can be achieved by establishing caring and supportive relationships with students. In addition, other studies (e.g., Xxxx et al., 2018; Xxxxxx & Xxxxxx, 1999; Xxxxxx, 2017) emphasize the significant effect of positive teacher-student relationships on students who are at the risk of maladjustment. According to the research conducted by Xxxx et al. (2018), teacher-student relationships are positively related with improvements in students‟ disruptive and off-task behavior. Overall, teacher-student relationships are of high importance since they can benefit students‟ learning process, academic achievements and discipline at school by creating a comfortable atmosphere to learn and thus boosting students‟ motivation to study.
