Teacher-student Relationship Quality and Student Relatedness and Engagement in Elementary School
Open Access
Author:
Zadzora, Kathleen Marie
Graduate Program:
Human Development and Family Studies
Degree:
Doctor of Philosophy
Document Type:
Dissertation
Date of Defense:
July 24, 2019
Committee Members:
Scott David Gest, Dissertation Advisor/Co-Advisor Scott David Gest, Committee Chair/Co-Chair Martin John Sliwinski, Committee Member Janet Agnes Welsh, Committee Member Karen Linn Bierman, Outside Member Lesley Anne Ross, Program Head/Chair
Keywords:
teacher student relationship student engagement elementary school peer perceptions
Abstract:
Children’s early classroom experiences are important to understanding their trajectory of school achievement. One important facet of such classroom experiences is children’s relationship with their teacher. This paper applies Skinner and colleagues’ (2008) self-system model of motivational development (context self action) in a sample of elementary school students (1st, 3rd, and 5th grade; N = 1,404, 49.9% girls) and teachers (N = 76; 17% male) in the northeastern and midwestern U.S. Early-year peer perceptions of teacher-student relationship quality (context)—but not teachers’ own reports of relationship quality—were associated with teachers’ perception of student academic effort (action) over the course of the school year, but this association was not mediated by students’ own perceptions of their closeness with their teacher (self). Implications for education research and future directions are discussed.
