Term of Award
Fall 2024
Degree Name
Doctor of Education in Curriculum Studies (Ed.D.)
Document Type and Release Option
Dissertation (restricted to Georgia Southern)
Copyright Statement / License for Reuse
This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 License.
Department
Department of Curriculum, Foundations, and Reading
Committee Chair
Peggy Shannon-Baker
Committee Member 1
Daniel Chapman
Committee Member 2
John Weaver
Committee Member 3
Michelle Reidel
Abstract
This qualitative creative narrative examined the lives and educational experiences of the teacher-student relationships of three teachers. I applied ethics of care and relational aesthetics as the theoretical lenses in which to explore these experiences and how the lives of the participants were impacted through caring and relationships. Ethics of care provided a framework to explore the participants’ stories, focusing on care, trust, and growth (Gilligan, 2003; Noddings, 1984). Relational aesthetics provided the framework and foundation for relationships, what defines relationships (Surrey, 1985), how relationships affect psychological development (Miller, 1986), and how it can be studied and used in the classroom (Raider-Roth, 2005). My literature review found that positive relationships are associated with higher test scores (den Brook et al., 2004; Hughes et al., 2012), higher engagement and academic achievement (Burns, 2020; Martin & Collie, 2019), higher motivation (Frymier & Houser, 2000; Sethi & Scales, 2020), greater student self-efficacy (Gehlbach et al., 2012; Prewett et al., 2019; Tormey, 2021), and enhanced social competence (Baker et al., 2008; Davis, 2003). The literature review also details how teacher-student relationships are beneficial for teachers by increasing job satisfaction (Veldman et al., 2013; Hargreaves, 2000) and helping to manage stress (Brekelmans et al., 2002; Split et al., 2011). I conducted semi-structured interviews and kept researcher notes in a journal throughout the research process. The interviews were transcribed and initially coded by hand using descriptive and in vivo methods (Saldaña, 2015), and also digitally coded using NVivo by a pattern coding coding method. Once repeated themes were established, events were pulled from the interviews highlighting those themes, adding dialogue, setting and context for the narrative to develop. The participants’ narratives were grouped by individual and written chronologically. Circumstantial meanings were determined from the narratives, drawing connections and support from the present. Based on these findings, curriculum studies scholars should further explore ethics of care in academic relationships to see how relationships affect other age groups and fields of study. Teacher preparation programs should implement studies of care practices in their coursework as well.
INDEX WORDS: Teacher-student relationship, Ethics of care, Relational aesthetics, Creative narrative inquiry, Storytelling
Recommended Citation
Fleming, Crystal D., "Apple for the Teacher, Care for the Kids: The Impact of Quality Teacher-Student Relationships in a Creative Non-Fiction Study" (2024). Electronic Theses and Dissertations. 2844.
https://digitalcommons.georgiasouthern.edu/etd/2844
Research Data and Supplementary Material
No
