Format
Individual Presentation
First Presenter's Institution
Self
First Presenter’s Email Address
drjessteal@gmail.com
First Presenter's Brief Biography
Dr. Jess Teal earned her PhD in Educational Leadership and Advocacy. Her study focused on the early childhood teachers’ perspectives of teacher-student relationships with Title 1 students. She has spent her career teaching third through fifth graders in Title 1 schools. She is passionate about supporting teachers in establishing a positive teacher-student relationship with all students even students that can be challenging in the classroom.
Location
Session Two
Strand #1
Heart: Social & Emotional Skills
Strand #2
Head: Academic Achievement & Leadership
Relevance
Head
Positive teacher-student relationships should occur with all students. As the teacher establishes positive teacher-student relationships with all students, all students will be celebrated and valued through cultural diversity and inclusion. Students who have positive teacher-student relationships are more successful in academic performance, and social and emotional development. When teachers have a connection with students, they are equipped to differentiate social and emotional learning and academic instruction based on students’ specific needs. Establishing trust in teacher-student relationships is vital for students who are at risk for learning and developmental challenges. Trust provides the safety needed to allow students to focus on academic achievement and social and emotional development. Students are more motivated to learn when they have positive relationships with their teachers resulting in higher student achievement and reducing achievement gaps. Students are more likely to express a need for help and assistance from a teacher as a product of positive teacher-student relationships. Students who have negative relationships with their teachers get punished more frequently and have a higher risk of dropping out of school when the students are older. Students who have good relationships with their teacher have fewer absences from school.
Heart
Teacher-student relationships are defined as relationships between the teacher and the student where the teacher provides emotionally caring, cognitively motivating, and consistent caregiving to maximize developmental opportunities through personalized and predictable care. Teachers need to be prepared to develop teacher-student relationships with all students including those who are Title 1, those who have challenging behavior, and those who have trauma. Negative behavior displayed by many students impedes the development of positive teacher-student relationships. Children benefit from nurturing and consistent relationships with adults, but many students are not consistently exposed to high-quality interactions with adults outside the classroom. The school climate is improved as students are excited to come to school and as students model the respect their teachers displayed toward them. Students will strengthen decision making and goal setting through effective support and guidance from their teacher and other mentos in the school setting. Many students will be motivated to participate in instruction as they feel safe in the classroom. The approach to the curriculum will be caring as the teacher considers the personal relationships in the classroom. Students will become empowered to achieve academically but will also become empowered to be a leader in their classroom.
Hands
Classes with positive teacher-student relationships resulted in an environment less at risk for a climate of bullying among peers. The climate of the classroom is safe, and students are able to focus on development. The teacher can effectively support the students in communication, conflict resolution, crisis management, anger and behavior management, and restorative practices. The relationship must happen first for the students to develop in these areas.
Health
Teachers have been instructed for years to develop positive teacher-student relationships, but teachers are not taught how to establish relationships with students who have trauma and socioeconomic barriers. Trauma includes parental divorce, substance abuse in the home, and so much more. The influence of trauma and socioeconomic barriers results in having difficulty establishing relationships with adults and their peers, but also negative classroom behaviors. Trauma and community informed education will support teachers in developing these teacher-student relationships despite challenges. Once the teacher has established a positive connection, the teacher will be able to effectively support the student in their mental and physical health.
Home
A vital part of teacher-student relationships is the teacher-parent relationship. Through teacher-parent relationships and effective communication, many parents will increase their engagement in school because they also feel safe with the teacher. The teacher is then able to provide parenting skills and support for the parent that is specific to the needs of the parent and student. When parents are more engaged in school and academic happenings, student achievement will often increase, and student discipline will often decrease.
Brief Program Description
Positive teacher-student relationships are essential for a safe classroom that promotes academic achievement and social/emotional development for all children. Teachers need specific practices and resources to support them in establishing positive teacher-student relationships with all their students. All students deserve a consistent adult connection and to call school a safe place to learn and grow.
Summary
When you have not eaten anything but the school lunch you had yesterday, you are not focused on the math lesson. When you are not sure where you will sleep tonight, you are not thinking about speaking respectfully to your classmates. When your parents told you last night that they were getting divorced, you are not considering how your acting out is making it hard for the teacher to teach the reading lesson. These are the situations impacting the behaviors of many students. Socioeconomic barriers and trauma are two of the many external factors that influence students’ behaviors. Teachers are encouraged to develop teacher-student relationships with all their students; however external factors are obstacles that make it challenging. These external factors cause students to put up walls that limit connection, act aggressively, and act defiantly. Teachers need specific professional development to gain practices and resources to apply consistently to support them in overcoming these obstacles.
There are many positive outcomes that come from establishing positive teacher-student relationships with all students. Teacher-student relationships establish trust between the teacher and the student. The student is motivated to please the teacher. This motivation influences classroom behavior and academic achievement. When students trust that they are in a safe environment, they can relax and with support learn to self-regulate their behavior. When students trust that they are in a safe environment, they can learn and with support they can grow.
Teachers are frustrated by limited time and limited professional development to support them in establishing teacher-student relationships with all their students. I have worked my entire career in Title 1 schools. I have completed my PhD in Education focused on Leadership and Advocacy. I spent the length of my dissertation studying teacher-student relationships and interviewed teachers to determine the practices and challenges of teacher-student relationships. All students deserve a consistent, safe, and trusting teacher-student relationship and all teachers deserve the resources to make that happen.
Evidence
Teachers are often challenged to develop teacher-student relationships with some students (Bayly & Bierman., 2022; Sutherland et al., 2020). There is limited information on how teachers develop teacher-student relationships when teacher-student relationships are difficult to develop (Theisen-Homer, 2021). When early childhood teachers enter their classrooms and encounter some Title 1 students, students with trauma, and students with negative behavior developing teacher-student relationships becomes challenging (Post et al., 2020). To enhance teacher-student relationships with Title 1 early childhood students, teachers, administrators, and professional development writers need a better understanding of practices and challenges of developing teacher-student relationships with all students.
References
Bayly, B. L., & Bierman, K. L. (2022). Profiles of dysregulation moderate the impact of preschool teacher-student relationships on elementary school functioning. Early Education & Development, 33(1), 164-182. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2020.1865785
Post, P. B., Grybush, A. L., Elmadani, A., & Lockhart, C. E. (2020). Fostering resilience in classrooms through child-teacher relationship training. International Journal of Play Therapy, 29(1), 9-19. https://doi.org/10.1037/pla0000107
Sutherland, K. S., Conroy, M. A., McLeod, B. D., Granger, K., Broda, M., & Kunemund, R. (2020). Preliminary study of the effects of BEST in CLASS--Elementary on outcomes of elementary students with problem behavior. Journal of Positive Behavior Interventions, 22(4), 220-233. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=eric&AN=EJ1265201&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Theisen-Homer, V. (2021). Preparing teachers for relationships with students: Two visions, two approaches. Journal of Teacher Education, 72(3), 271-283. https://search.ebscohost.com/login.aspx?direct=true&AuthType=shib&db=eric&AN=EJ1291573&site=eds-live&scope=site.
Learning Objective 1
Positive teacher-student relationships promote academic achievement and leadership.
Learning Objective 2
Positive teacher-student relationships promote social and emotional skills.
Learning Objective 3
Positive teacher-student relationships promote safety and violence prevention.
Keyword Descriptors
Teacher-student relationships | Title 1 | differentiation | diversity | student achievement | social-emotional learning | socioeconomic barriers | trauma informed practices | culturally responsive
Presentation Year
2024
Start Date
3-4-2024 11:30 AM
End Date
3-4-2024 1:00 PM
Recommended Citation
Teal, Jess, "Engaging Teacher-Student Relationships with All Students" (2024). National Youth Advocacy and Resilience Conference. 18.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/nyar_savannah/2024/2024/18
Included in
Developmental Psychology Commons, Development Studies Commons, Early Childhood Education Commons, Educational Leadership Commons, Educational Methods Commons, Educational Psychology Commons, Elementary Education Commons, Elementary Education and Teaching Commons, Experimental Analysis of Behavior Commons, Higher Education and Teaching Commons, Junior High, Intermediate, Middle School Education and Teaching Commons, Other Teacher Education and Professional Development Commons, Pre-Elementary, Early Childhood, Kindergarten Teacher Education Commons, Secondary Education Commons, Secondary Education and Teaching Commons
Engaging Teacher-Student Relationships with All Students
Session Two
Positive teacher-student relationships are essential for a safe classroom that promotes academic achievement and social/emotional development for all children. Teachers need specific practices and resources to support them in establishing positive teacher-student relationships with all their students. All students deserve a consistent adult connection and to call school a safe place to learn and grow.
