Teachers who experience close relationships with students reported that their students were less likely to avoid school, appeared more self-directed, more cooperative and more engaged in learning (Birch & Ladd, 1997 Decker, Dona, & Christenson, 2007 Klem & Connell, 2004). Positive teacher-student relationships - evidenced by teachers' reports of low conflict, a high degree of closeness and support, and little dependency - have been shown to support students' adjustment to school, contribute to their social skills, promote academic performance and foster students' resiliency in academic performance (Battistich, Schaps, & Wilson, 2004 Birch & Ladd, 1997 Curby, Rimm-Kaufman, & Ponitz, 2009 Ewing & Taylor, 2009 Hamre & Pianta, 2001 Rudasill, Reio, Stipanovic, & Taylor, 2010). Positive teacher-student relationships contribute to school adjustment and academic and social performance A middle school girl experiences bullying from other students and approaches her social studies teacher to discuss it because she trusts that the teacher will listen and help without making her feel socially inept.A fourth grade boy who is struggling in math shows comfort in admitting to his teacher that he needs help with multiplying and dividing fractions even if most of the students in the class have moved beyond this work.A high school student chooses to share the news that he recently got a part in a community play with his teacher because he knows that his teacher will show genuine interest in his success.Here are some concrete examples of closeness between a teacher and a student: Teachers who foster positive relationships with their students create classroom environments more conducive to learning and meet students' developmental, emotional and academic needs. It also creates opportunity for thinking and analysis, uses feedback effectively to guide students' thinking, and extends students' prior knowledge. High quality academic instruction is designed to be appropriate to students' educational levels. Positive teacher-student relationships draw students into the process of learning and promote their desire to learn (assuming that the content material of the class is engaging, age-appropriate and well matched to the student's skills). The student is likely to trust her teacher more, show more engagement in learning, behave better in class and achieve at higher levels academically. Picture a student who feels a strong personal connection to her teacher, talks with her teacher frequently, and receives more constructive guidance and praise rather than just criticism from her teacher. However, those students who have close, positive and supportive relationships with their teachers will attain higher levels of achievement than those students with more conflict in their relationships. Solely improving students' relationships with their teachers will not produce gains in achievement. Improving students' relationships with teachers has important, positive and long-lasting implications for both students' academic and social development. Sara Rimm-Kaufman, PhD, and Lia Sandilos, PhD, University of Virginia
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