scholarly journals Development and Validation of a Measure to Assess Early Adolescents’ Perceptions of Caring Student-Teacher Relationships

2021 ◽  
Vol 6 ◽  
Author(s):  
Jenna Whitehead ◽  
Kimberly A. Schonert-Reichl ◽  
Eva Oberle ◽  
Lara Boyd
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Student Teacher ◽  
Early Adolescents ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Report ◽  
School Functioning ◽  
Teacher Relationships ◽  
Two Factors ◽  
Development And Validation ◽  
Student Teacher Relationships

There is accruing evidence documenting the importance of caring student-teacher relationships in fostering students’ social and emotional competence (SEC), well-being, and school success, particularly during early adolescence. However, few studies have investigated dimensions of caring student-teacher relationships from the perspective of early adolescents. This study describes the development and validation of the Caring Student-Teacher Relationship (CSTR) scale. Participants included 222 sixth and seventh grade middle school students who completed the CSTR and self-report measures of classroom supportiveness, prosociality, well-being, and school functioning. Students also assessed their teachers’ SEC. Classroom teachers (n = 14) completed self-report measures of mindfulness in teaching and burnout, reported on closeness and conflict in their relationships with students, and rated students’ SECs and academic success. Results from an Exploratory Factory Analysis (EFA) indicated high internal consistency of the CSTR and a two-factor solution: Teacher Support and Attunement and Caring Teacher Qualities. Further analyses revealed that the two factors of the CSTR were related in expected directions to measures of teacher support (e.g., academic and personal) and SEC, and to students’ reports of classroom supportiveness, prosociality, well-being, and school functioning. Positive associations of the two CSTR factors to teacher reports of students’ SEC and academic success were also found. The two factors of the CSTR were positively associated with teachers’ reports of mindfulness in teaching and negatively associated with teachers’ burnout. These findings have implications for understanding the role that students’ perceptions of student-teacher relationships may play in promoting their positive adaptation and success in school.

A Systematic Review of Student Self-Report Instruments that Assess Student-Teacher Relationships

2017 ◽  
Vol 119 (8) ◽  
pp. 1-42
Author(s):  
Kate L. Phillippo ◽  
Jerusha Conner ◽  
Shannon Davidson ◽  
Denise Pope
Keyword(s):  
Systematic Review ◽  
High School Students ◽  
Student Teacher ◽  
Survey Design ◽  
Large Body ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Self Report ◽  
Teacher Relationships ◽  
Survey Instruments ◽  
Student Teacher Relationships

Background A large body of survey-based research asserts that the quality and strength of student-teacher relationships (STRs) predict a host of academic and nonacademic outcomes; however, advances in survey design research have led some to question existing survey instruments’ psychometric soundness. Concurrently, qualitative research on STRs has identified important developmental and sociocultural variation in the ways students define, understand, and react to relationships with their teachers. The questions raised by survey methodologists, together with the conceptual elaboration of STRs, suggest that survey instruments used to assess STRs are due for a systematic review. Purpose/Research Questions This review of survey instruments examines the strengths and shortcomings of existing measures of STRs. Specifically, we ask: How do student self-report survey instruments assess STRs? We examined the extent to which these instruments reflect current survey design principles and existing knowledge about how STRs work, particularly for adolescents. Research Design, Data Collection, and Analysis A systematic search of peer-reviewed journal articles that (a) focused on North American middle- or high-school students, (b) linked STRs to student outcomes, and (c) used a student-report measure of STRs yielded 66 studies for which we could obtain the full instrument. Instruments were analyzed using a literature-informed protocol and an iterative process that resulted in strong inter-rater agreement. We used tables and matrices to examine patterns, themes, and outliers in our coded data. Findings The 66 studies varied considerably with respect to how they operationalized STRs and how they addressed the validity of their instruments. Similar survey items were used to measure different constructs, and constructs with the same names were measured inconsistently across studies. Many instruments were limited by (a) items that included words with ambiguous meanings, (b) inconsistent identification of instruments’ focal students and teachers across instruments, and (c) the use of negatively worded items to measure STRs’ strength. Conclusions and Recommendations If STR research is to meet its promise to guide and inform teachers’ efforts to develop and sustain effective relationships with their students, the field needs to properly identify those behaviors that make a difference for different students and those that do not. The next generation of student-report STR survey instruments requires more stringent attention to construct specification and validity, as well as to item generation (specifically, language use), in order to most effectively measure and identify aspects of STRs that affect student performance and well-being.

scholarly journals “Some Teachers Just Simply Care”: Respect in Urban Student-Teacher Relationships

2017 ◽  
Author(s):  
Alexandra F. Singer ◽  
Shannon Audley
Keyword(s):  
Academic Success ◽  
Emerging Adults ◽  
Student Teacher ◽  
Students Of Color ◽  
School Setting ◽  
Golden Rule ◽  
Policy Changes ◽  
Personal Lives ◽  
Teacher Relationships ◽  
Student Teacher Relationships

Teachers are ethically obligated to care for their students. One overlooked means of demonstrating care is through respect. However, because respectful behaviors are culturally dependent, exploring experiences of respect from students of color is needed to provide insight into student-teacher relationships. To understand students’ experiences of respect from teachers in the school setting, we interviewed 12 adolescents and emerging adults of color (M age = 17, SD age = 1.81) who attended Urban schools, about their experiences of respect from their teachers. We deductively and inductively coded the interviews separately for definitions of respect and experiences of respect from teachers using six themes of respect. Ultimately, youth often defined respect as the golden rule and politeness. However, when discussing instances of respect with teachers, youth described teachers demonstrating care for students’ personal lives and academic success. Our findings suggest that students identify behaviors associated with care as respectful, which diverge from decontextualized definitions of respect. Policy changes should focus on promoting student-teacher relationships, focusing on culturally sensitive teaching and caring for students. Specifically, policy should support classroom level changes, such as the co-construction of respect expectations between students and teachers.

scholarly journals Humanizing and conducive to learning: an adolescent students’ perspective on the central attributes of positive relationships with teachers

2019 ◽  
Vol 35 (1) ◽  
pp. 1-20 ◽  
Author(s):  
Irene García-Moya ◽  
Fiona Brooks ◽  
Carmen Moreno
Keyword(s):  
Classroom Management ◽  
Student Teacher ◽  
Well Being ◽  
Future Research ◽  
Positive Relationships ◽  
Adolescent Students ◽  
Cross Cultural Differences ◽  
Teacher Relationships ◽  
Educational Professionals ◽  
Student Teacher Relationships

AbstractThe aim of this qualitative study was to identify central attributes of positive relationships with teachers from the adolescent students’ perspectives that could help delineate the meaning of student–teacher connectedness while exploring to what extent its main attributes were similar or different in England and Spain. As part of the EU-funded project “Well-being among European youth: The contribution of student-teacher relationships in the secondary-school population”, we conducted focus groups in England and Spain with 42 students aged 11 to 18 years. Using a bottom-up approach for thematic analysis, we identified two main attributes that were linked to positive relationships with teachers as seen by our participating students from England and Spain:humanizing relationships, in which the students are acknowledged and respected as individuals and feel understood and supported by their teachers; andrelationships conducive to learning, encompassing aspects such as a perception of a genuine commitment with their learning on the part of the teachers, a positive classroom management, and teachers motivating students. This study contributes to the conceptualization of student–teacher connectedness and provides useful insights for teachers and educational professionals. In addition, the study findings pointed to the importance of power and authority dynamics in student–teacher relationships that foster or undermine connectedness, and they revealed some cross-cultural differences in the role of emotions in the class, two important aspects which deserve further attention in future research.

Sign in / Sign up

Export Citation Format

Share Document