Teaching with Heart: How Relationships Drive Student Outcomes

It is no secret that students spend an immense amount of time in school. According to the National Center for Education Statistics (NCES), the average school day for a student in America is 6 ½ hours long for 180 days a year (NCES, 2007).

Thus, students spend significant time with teachers and other education-related professionals over the course of their life, from as early as age three throughout adolescence and even into young adulthood. According to Ansari et al. (2020), “Aside from the time children spend at home with their parents, interactions with teachers form the next largest share of the day spent with an adult” (p. 3). This leads to an important question: What sort of impact can teachers and education-related professionals have on students, and how may these relationships affect students’ abilities to succeed?

The Role of Student-Teacher Relationships in Students’ Lives and Educational Outcomes

The social environment (i.e. interactions with peers and adults) largely impacts the various emotions students feel both in the classroom and in their everyday lives (Mainhard et al., 2018). Mainhard and colleagues (2018), examined how the social environment of classrooms positively or negatively affected students’ emotions. The researchers also investigated how students’ emotions impacted their motivation, learning strategies, and academic achievement. They found that the interpersonal relationships teachers have with their students, as well as the social environment teachers establish, had the capacity to impact students’ emotions about school and their desire to learn both positively and negatively (Mainhard et al., 2018). For example, when teachers created a warm classroom environment, there was less student anxiety and more enjoyment, which led to higher student participation and better academic outcomes. On the other hand, negative emotional outcomes in students, such as high anxiety and low enjoyment, as well as lower levels of student participation, correlated with colder, aggressive, and repressive environments (Mainhard et al., 2018).

Developing Positive Relationships to Produce the Social Environment Students Deserve

Meeting the needs of students is not a one-size-fits-all job. Every group of students, as well as the individual students in a group, are different. However, several strategies can be implemented to establish positive relationships with students. These relationships, in turn, help students learn to regulate emotions, enjoy learning, and grow in and out of the classroom.

• Increase active engagement: Active engagement involves ensuring students are a part of the learning process, learning by doing, as opposed to passively listening or watching (MacSuga-Gage et al., 2012). If students are engaged and participate in what they are learning, they are more likely to enjoy the content and less likely to engage in challenging behaviors (MacSuga-Gage et al., 2012). This is a recipe for positive relationship building between professionals and students!
  • Things to Try:
    • Incorporate small group instructional time into the day so that teachers can work closely with smaller groups of students. Students tend to be more attentive and engaged in smaller groups.
    • Use manipulatives to enhance instruction (e.g., building blocks for counting instead of fingers, puppets during read-alouds to help tell stories, or magnetic letters when identifying sounds and creating words. Using manipulates creates an exciting, welcoming environment for all students, which makes learning fun!
    • Discover students’ interests and incorporate those into lessons and activities. For example, if students love cooking, create dramatic play and science areas where they can be chefs for the week!
  • Provide positive descriptive feedback often: If you entered an environment every day where you were constantly corrected and disciplined, it is likely you would not want to be there. Children have the same reaction. Like adults, children, appreciate being told when they have done something right, which may encourage them to continue engaging in the positive behavior!
    • Things to Try:
      • When teaching children expectations, compliment students who are following instructions and expectations (e.g., “Maya, I see you using walking feet, which keeps you and others safe!”, “José, you are using a great indoor voice! That helps us hear each other without disturbing others!”; MacSuga-Gage et al., 2012).
      • Create a whole-group incentive program in which students can feel proud of their accomplishments. For example, if the class is complimented by another teacher, the class might earn a marble in the marble jar. When the jar is filled, the class gets a popcorn party, extra outdoor time, or other whole-class incentive! With such a system in place, it is important that teachers refrain from punishing children by removing marbles or excluding certain children from receiving the incentive.
      • Contact families often to share good news about their children. For example, set aside one day a week where each child receives a positive note or text home. When family members receive positive feedback about their children, the child sees a connection between home and school, showing that their teacher cares (MacSuga-Gage et al., 2012). The child is also likely to get double the amount of positive feedback too (i.e., from school and home).
    • Employ responsive classroom practices: Classrooms are made up of students with varied life experiences and family traditions. Taking the time to recognize and appreciate each student for all that they are and where they come from can promote positive relationships, as students feel seen and cared for (MacSuga-Gage et al., 2012).
      • Things to Try:
        • Hold developmentally appropriate discussions about the social and political contexts of the past and present. Children’s books can support these discussions with young children. When reading books, explore the importance of power in the story, delve into the ways history impacts the world we live in today, and discuss the multiple people represented in the story, your classroom community, and the world at large (National Equity Project, 2024).
        • Ensure that dual language learners are encouraged and supported to use both languages in the classroom. Learn words and phrases in their home language and teach them to the whole class!
        • Provide an open and accepting space where students can experiment and learn about the complexities of language. For example, instead of correcting a student for using the word “ain’t” as opposed to “is not,” hold the space for both words to be present. Given that language is socially constructed, remind children and yourself that some words might be more accepted in certain settings than others (National Equity Project, 2024).
        • Collaborate with a student’s family on the best ways to meet their child’s needs, as families are the experts on their children. (MacSuga-Gage et al., 2012). Also, seek guidance from other school staff who may have a relationship with a student and may be more knowledgeable about that student’s individual needs.

References

Ansari, A., Hofkens, T. L., & Pianta, R. C. (2020). Teacher-student relationships across the first seven years of education and adolescent outcomes. Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology, 71, 101–200. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2020.101200

Macsuga-Gage, A. S., Simonsen, B., & Briere, D. E. (2012). Effective teaching practices: Effective teaching practices that promote a positive classroom environment. Beyond Behavior, 22(1), 14–22. https://doi.org/10.1177/107429561202200104

Mainhard, T., Oudman, S., Hornstra, L., Bosker, R. J., & Goetz, T. (2018). Student emotions in class: The relative importance of teachers and their interpersonal relations with students. Learning and Instruction, 53, 109-119. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.learninstruc.2017.07.011

National Center for Education Statistics (NCES). (2008). Schools and staffing survey (SASS).

National Equity Project. (2024). Culturally responsive teaching.

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