How does the importance of the teacher-student relationship compare to other important relationships, such as parent-student relationships, in students’ lives?
From early childhood through adolescence, positive teacher-student relationships appear to complement the other important relationships in students’ lives. For young students, family relationships are more important than teacher-student relationships in predicting students’ adjustment to kindergarten (Pianta, Nimetz, & Bennett, 1997). In middle school students, the perception of their teacher (whether they felt that their teacher was supportive toward them or not) predicted students’ interest in learning and their engagement in the classroom. At this level, parental support plays a complementary role by predicting youths’ motivation in school (Wentzel, 1998). In high school, both parent and teacher supportiveness (combined with parent and teacher monitoring and high expectations) play critical roles in predicting gains in mathematics achievement (Gregory & Weinstein, 2004).
From early childhood through adolescence, positive teacher-student relationships appear to complement the other important relationships in students’ lives. For young students, family relationships are more important than teacher-student relationships in predicting students’ adjustment to kindergarten (Pianta, Nimetz, & Bennett, 1997). In middle school students, the perception of their teacher (whether they felt that their teacher was supportive toward them or not) predicted students’ interest in learning and their engagement in the classroom. At this level, parental support plays a complementary role by predicting youths’ motivation in school (Wentzel, 1998). In high school, both parent and teacher supportiveness (combined with parent and teacher monitoring and high expectations) play critical roles in predicting gains in mathematics achievement (Gregory & Weinstein, 2004). This video clip is of a teacher talking about the complementary role that her relationship with the child and the
