Close and Conflictual: How Pupil–Teacher Relationships Can Contribute to the Alienation of Pupils from Secondary School

Abstract

This article presents previously unreported findings from a larger grounded theory study which explored the intersection between pupil–teacher relationships and secondary pupils who are experiencing school alienation. Mixed data were gathered, using a questionnaire exploring teachers’ perceptions of their relationships with their students, alongside semi-structured, exploratory interviews with teachers and alienated pupils. A critical realist grounded theory design was employed, identifying closeness and conflict as causative mechanisms contributing new insights into the phenomena of school alienation. This approach allowed for data to be triangulated, constantly compared, and used to verify findings. This study discovered some pupils experience a more pronounced subset of alienation, where teachers perceive their relationships with such pupils as being less close and more conflictual when compared to their peers. It also identified that these pupils place an emphasis on negative experiences early into the formation of relationships with their teachers. Such experiences are viewed as critical incidents which are difficult to forget by alienated pupils. A diagram summarising this mechanism is presented, and the paper concludes with some professional strategies for teachers to help repair the relationship and reduce pupils’ feelings of alienation.