A Decade of Growth: From Social Media to Academic Friendship

THE RELATIONSHIP BETWEEN PRESCHOOL CHILDREN'S SCHOOL READINESS, SOCIAL-EMOTIONAL COMPETENCE AND STUDENT-TEACHER RELATIONSHIPS By Badiyyah I. Waajid, Ph.D. A dissertation submitted in partial fulfillment of the requirements for the degree of Doctor of Philosophy at Virginia Commonwealth University. Virginia Conlmonwealth University, 2005 Director: Jill E. Fox, Ph.D., School of Education The purpose of this study was to explore the relations between preschool children's school readiness, young children's social emotional development, and teacher-student relationships. Of interest, was whether social-emotional competence and teacher-student relationships made unique contributions to young children school readiness. Participants were 58 three and four year old children (3 1 boys and 27 girls) who attended 3 inner-city preschool programs. Thirty-five percent of the sample was African American, with the remainder being Caucasian, Asian, or Hispanic. Social-emotional and teacher-student relationship measures collected during the year were associated with school readiness at year's end. Children's emotional competence was assessed using child interviews. Social competence and teacher-student relationships were measured using teacher surveys. After controlling for age, bivariate correlation revealed that emotional competence and social competence were positively related to one another. Emotional competence and close teacher-student relationships were related to school readiness. Regression analyses showed that emotional competence added to the prediction of school readiness after controlling for age. Children more ready for school, were more emotionally competent. Children having close relationships with preschool teachers were also more emotionally

ABSTRACTAlthough research on student–teacher relationships (STRs) consistently demonstrates STRs’ association with student achievement and well-being, teachers typically receive limited guidance regarding how to cultivate these relationships. Efforts to promote teacher dispositions toward STRs and learning of relational practices—practices that ground strong STRs—are promising but scattered. This case study, which analyzes observation and interview data, program materials, and teacher candidate artifacts, extends knowledge in this area. The authors explore how one purposefully selected program, unique in its efforts to promote relational practices, incorporated relevant programmatic and instructional structures, and how candidates in turn developed relational practices. Faculty stressed STRs’ importance but hesitated to didactically teach relational practices. This stance encouraged instructors’ relational practice teaching and generated promising ideas about relational practice teaching. It also led to varied, idiosyncratic relational practice repertoires among candidates. These findings inform discussion of how and whether teacher educators might further incorporate relational practice teaching and learning.

Background Given the various novel educational approaches and online interactions following the pandemic, it is timely to identify lessons learned for post-pandemic student and teacher relationships within the ‘new normal’ teaching learning processes. This study aims to explore the dynamics and to what extent the disruption influences student-teacher relationships in teaching and learning process following the COVID-19 pandemic. Materials and Methods A qualitative descriptive approach was employed to explore individual reflections and perspectives from 28 medical teachers and 35 medical students from different institutions who participated in 10 focus groups. Data were analyzed thematically using steps for coding and theorization (SCAT) approach. The emerging themes were then further analyzed and regrouped into the relationship-centered leadership framework based on emotional intelligence. Results The identified themes described three elements representing student-teacher relationships in the teaching learning processes. The self as the center of the diagram consists of the co-existing role of the self as teachers and as students, which to some extent, is related to their personal and professional development, motivation, and struggles to maintain work-life balance. The middle layer represents the dynamic of student-teacher relationship, which showed that despite the increased number of teaching opportunities, the trust among teachers and students was compromised. These changes in the self and the dynamic relationship occurred in a broader and more complex medical education system, pictured as the outer layer. Thorough curriculum improvements, contents, and new skills were emphasized. Conclusions Our findings emphasized the need to recalibrate student-teacher relationships, taking into account the intrapersonal, interpersonal, and the system factors. The pandemic has reemphasized the aim of teachers’ roles, not only to nurture students’ competencies, but also to nurture meaningful interpersonal reciprocal relationships through responding towards both teachers’ and students’ needs as well as supporting both personal and professional development.

Casualties and physical destruction of the 2004 tsunami in Aceh are well documented in the literature. However, little is known about lives of teachers and students after the tragedy, particularly about the teaching and learning including teacher-student instructional relationships at the affected schools in the province. This cross-sectional qualitative case study, which was conducted between April and October 2010 at a public junior high school in Banda Aceh that was severely affected by the Aceh 2004 tsunami, provided evidences that the tragedy affected the quality of teachers’ teaching and teacher-student relationships. Data were obtained from semi- structured interviews with ten students from the school, supported by data collection observations over a period of six months. In general, the students commented about their teachers in negative terms. This included students’ deficit views about teachers’ lack of commitment on their teaching practice and their poor interactions with students at the school, affecting the quality of students’ learning at the school.

It takes two to tango: Investigating teacher-student interactions related to written corrective feedback with Activity Theory

The impact of teachers' motivating style and student-teacher relationships on adolescents' class participation: The indirect role of learning motivation.

This study investigated the professional standard practices of school heads as predictors of teachers’ satisfaction in public elementary schools in the Division of Agusan del Sur. A mixed-methods approach was employed, involving 196 school heads and 356 teachers surveyed, alongside interviews with ten (10) purposively selected teachers. Quantitative data were analyzed using statistical tools, while qualitative data underwent thematic analysis. Findings revealed that school heads demonstrated a very high level of professional standard practices across five domains: leading strategically, managing school operations and resources, focusing on teaching and learning, developing self and others, and building connections. Additionally, teachers reported high satisfaction levels concerning their working environment, workload distribution, teacher-student relationships, peer relationships, personal and professional growth, salary and promotion, well-being, and external support systems. A multiple linear regression analysis identified leading strategically, managing school operations and resources, and developing self and others as significant predictors of teachers’ overall satisfaction. Moreover, qualitative data highlighted five core themes influencing teacher satisfaction: (1) working environment and organizational culture, (2) distribution of responsibilities and workload, (3) teacher-student relationship, (4) personal and professional growth, and (5) well-being and recognition. Based on these findings, an intervention program was proposed to foster a positive work environment, enhance teacher-student relationships, promote professional growth, ensure justifiable workload distribution, and provide access to mental well-being resources. The study concludes that strong leadership practices contribute significantly to teacher satisfaction, which in turn enhances school performance. It recommends that the Department of Education integrate these insights into policy and planning, school heads refine leadership strategies, and future researchers explore broader contexts to further understand teacher satisfaction determinants.

Background/Context The link between care and teaching is well accepted, and positive teacher-student relationships are known to benefit students’ in-school experiences and academic success. Yet, positive teacher-student relationships are not the norm for African American males and African American male students’ experiences and performance in schools remains an issue. Purpose/Objective/Research Question/Focus of Study What characterizes the teacher–student relationships within the all-Black, all-male classes of this district-sponsored program? Moreover, how do the instructors for the program enact these characteristics in their classrooms? Setting This study examines a project of the Office of African American Male Achievement in Oakland, CA. The Manhood Development Program was an elective class in the high schools and an after school program at the middle schools that sought to improve Black male students’ academic success and school experiences, and teach students about their cultural and community histories. MDP classes were offered to Black male students and taught by Black male educators. Population/Participants/Subjects Based on support from and communication with the MDP facilitators and school administrators, the participants in this study include MDP instructors and their students at three high schools and one middle school within an urban school district where there are persistent, racialized disparities in rates of discipline and in levels of academic success. Research Design This article reports on a qualitative case study of the teacher–student relationships within four classrooms that were part of a program for African American male adolescents within an urban school district. Data Collection and Analysis During one academic year, four of the MDP classes were observed at least four times and videotaped at least twice. Interviews were completed with three of the class instructors and with 41% of students across the four classes. The observations and videos were analyzed for instances when teacher–student relationships were leveraged towards specific pedagogical ends. Micro-ethnographic analyses were conducted of the video instances to highlight the dimensions of caring exhibited in the teacher–student interactions. From these analyses, one interactional segment was chosen to illustrate the existence and nuances of a politically intentional form of caring. Findings/Results The MDP instructors’ sociopolitical consciousness impacts and shapes their relationships with their MDP students. MDP instructors articulate and enact specific goals around how to construct caring teacher–student relationships that stem from their intention to positively influence the lives of Black children, push back against the racialized and hegemonic institutional structure of schools. MDP instructors teach in a way that is fundamentally connected to the local community in Oakland and make a concerted effort to know, rather than stereotype, each student and to develop each students’ full potential. These relationships are intentional, political, and visible acts of care by MDP instructors that are interactionally coconstructed within their classrooms. Conclusions/Recommendations This case of politicized caring questions the premise that education and schools are, and should be, narrowly focused on developing test preparation, career-readiness, or content-specific practices. Instead, this case illustrates the alternative educational ideologies and practices of four Black educators that allow them to reclaim their social and political responsibilities and create effective, nurturing, antiracist schooling environments for Black students. This microanalysis of one of these classes offers an example of a type of caring and pedagogy that currently exists and that could be more widely available to Black students.

The teacher-student relationship is an aspect of classroom interaction that could be developed through interpersonal communication among classroom participants. Fostering such a relationship is the function of a positive and collaborative environment marked with mutual respect, understanding, and friendliness that motivates students’ learning. This paper examined the influence of the interpersonal aspect of teacher-talk on teacherstudent relationships and student verbal participation in classroom interactions in Ekiti State in Nigeria. The study employed a mixedmethods approach, involving both quantitative and qualitative analyses of eight recorded lessons. The findings revealed that all the categories of teacher-talk identified in the study could be used to facilitate effective classroom interpersonal relationships among teacher and learner participants. The interpersonal aspect of teacher-talk only allowed for limited interpersonal relationships between them and the students because the interaction was teacher-biased. It is recommended that teachers be encouraged and trained to understand their roles in addition to imparting academic knowledge, as facilitators in a stress-free learning environment where students can feel a sense of belonging and develop good interpersonal skills, as well as achieve academic success. Fostering a sense of shared relationships in classroom interactions requires considering students’ personalities, individual variability, freedom of expression, and personal development.

Children’s mental health plays a very important role in their personality development in the early age, while negative mental situation will probably make strong influence to their development of mental health. In order to discuss the reasons of children’s emotion of anxiety and depression, this research used Social Anxiety Scale for Children (SASC), teacher-student relationship (TSRS), Children’s Depression Ra-ting Scale (CDRS), Self Perception Profile for Children (SPPC) to measure specific emotional fields among 340 students from Shandong province. The results show that: 1. Teacher-Students relationship predicted anxiety and depression level of primary school students in high grades; 2. Teacher-students intimacy significantly negative predicted the children’s anxiety and depression level, while Teacher-students conflict significantly positive predicted the degree of children’s anxiety; 3. Children's self-perception and optimism also have significant influence on children's anxiety and depression level.

Teacher-student relationships are vital for academic and social development of students, for teachers’ professional and personal development, and for having a supportive learning environment. In the digital age, these relationships can extend beyond bricks and mortar and beyond school hours. Specifically, these relationships are extended today while teachers and students communicate via social networking sites (SNS). This paper characterizes differences between teachers (N=160) and students (N=587) who are willing to connect with their students/teachers via Facebook and those who do not wish to connect. The quantitative research reported here within is based on data collection of personal characteristics, attitudes towards Facebook, and perceptions of teacher-student relationship. Findings suggest differences in characteristics of the two groups (willing to connect vs. not willing to connect) within both populations (teachers and students). Also, in both populations, those who were willing to connect, compared to those who were not willing to connect, present more positive attitudes towards using Facebook for teaching/learning and are more opposed to a banning policy of student-teacher SNS-based communication. We also found that students who were willing to connect showed a greater degree of closeness with their teachers compared to those who were not willing to connect. This study may assist policymakers when setting up regulations regarding teacher-student communication via social networking sites.

Job satisfaction and teacher–student relationships across the teaching career: Four case studies

A Finnish magazine published my request that people remember and write about their teachers. Many writers recalled teachers who, for example, had humiliated, favoured or laughed at their students. This article focuses on a study of such negative memories, examining what writers tell about teachers and students in power relationships and how students make sense of their recollections. Students described not only the teachers’ more powerful position but also their recollections of teachers exercising that power in various ways. They recalled what happened between those teachers and themselves and how they (the students) experienced the situations, reacted and felt; they also considered the significance of their memories. Besides demonstrating how teacher–student relations can be loving and reciprocal, research is needed on relations that students recall as negative, unfair or hurtful. Students’ memories need to be taken into account to help both teachers and researchers understand how negative experiences evolve in teachers’ relationships with students, how complex those relations can be, and how teachers’ actions can impact both on student learning and on the students’ personal development. Such negative memories should also be addressed in teacher education. Both present and future teachers should have opportunities to work with their own memories.

The students of generation Z are more independent, technology savvy and socially connected. Even though technology has shrunk the universe and all knowledge resources seem to be just a click away, inculcating moral values, providing continuous technical guidance and psycho-social assistance for a holistic development cannot be provided by mere technological tools and the virtual world wide web. Teaching is a noble profession with no materialistic benefit and is service oriented. The teacher not only strives to create an atmosphere conducive to learning as an instructor, but also imparts the necessary skills needed for lifelong learning while playing multifaceted roles such as mentor, facilitator, motivator, guide and advisor. Mentors with technical expertise and social experience are required to steer the students in the right direction at the right time. This case study apprehends the outcome of a sequential mentoring process that is being practiced in our institution. It has greatly influenced the personal and professional development of the engineering students right from their first academic year. The end-to-end process of mentoring which encompasses an extensive induction programme, cultivation of healthy relationships through various mentoring models, sustenance of the mentor-mentee relationship, and closing the loop by facilitating the graduates contribute mentorship back to their alma mater is elucidated in this work. This structured mentoring strategy helps the students tap their latent potential and attain the personal and professional outcomes. The study highlights the importance of ‘knowing the mentee’ through a personality assessment test without judging them and thereby helping them achieve their short-term goals and long-term aspirations. This structured mentoring strategy enhanced the students’ performance in academics, active participation in co-curricular activities, both inside and outside the institution and also shaped them into a holistic individual. Such impacts were observed by collecting the student participation data and a feedback survey. Keywords—Mentoring; teacher-student relationship; induction; cultivation; redefinition.

This article presents a PhD supervisor’s reflections on a didactic change in supervision. The change included adding digital collaborative supervision activities to meet expectations, demands, and prerequisites for PhD supervision. Small-scale changes in supervisor didactic practices, such as online monthly group meetings and online retreats, can be useful for the progress of PhD students and for improving the working situation for supervisors. Collaboration is a key feature that ensures shared responsibility, meaningful focus, and better use of both traditional and new supervision meetings and activities. Furthermore, PhD students appear to have positive outcomes regarding social life, academic belonging, academic skills, academic leadership, and academic friendship. The findings from this small, pragmatic quality improvement project provide useful insights for PhD supervision. Reflections on a supervisor’s experience from a didactic change with digital, collaborative supervision can provide useful learning relevant to other PhD supervisors, PhD students, and graduate schools.