Teachers’ Perceptions of Communication Influencing the Teacher-Student Relationship in an Online Environment

Abstract

The research examined high school teachers' perceptions of communication with their students in a remote virtual school setting. The problem was that communication was impacted when teachers and students transitioned from a traditional school setting to a remote virtual setting. This qualitative case study aimed to see how communication influenced the relationship between teachers and students. This case study provides teachers' perspectives on communication with students when pivoting from traditional schooling to remote instruction. Participants were ten teachers within a school district in Middle Tennessee who participated in at least one school year in a remote virtual school setting and one year in a face-to-face traditional school setting. A semi-structured interview protocol using Zoom and Survey Monkey questionnaires were used to gather data to determine how out-of-class communication and technology tools affect interactions and communication between teachers and students. Qualitative data revealed that online communication and technology tools positively influence communication and the teacher-student relationship in a remote setting.