When Teachers and Students Connect

Name: Jacqueline Zeller
Title: Lecturer on Education
Focus: Teacher-Student Bonds

by Lory Hough

Can stronger connections between teachers and students help students do better in school and feel more comfortable in class? Lecturer Jacqueline Zeller thinks so, in part, she says, because positive relationships help students feel safe enough to open up about personal concerns that might interfere with learning. As the spring semester was starting, Zeller, a psychologist who formerly taught elementary school students and now counsels children and consults with school staff in Boston, talked with Ed. magazine about the upside to creating positive relationships, the link between doing well and being well, and the role that administrators — not just teachers — should play to make positive relationships a part of the school culture.

Aren’t teachers supposed to be concerned with academics?
Absolutely, academics are a central focus of schools. It is also important that schools recognize the important value of supporting students’ social and emotional development. Socialemotional growth and learning at school are linked in important ways.

And closer teacher-student relationships can help?
Yes. Positive student-teacher relationships can serve an important protective function for students who might be at risk for a variety of negative academic, emotional, and social outcomes.

In what way?
Learning, accomplishing developmental tasks, and successfully applying behavioral management strategies can all be strengthened by a foundation of positive relationships between students and teachers. Students are more likely to feel emotionally safe at school when they have positive relationships with their teachers. Those who apply attachment theory to teacher-student relationships would say that students who have confidence in their teachers’ abilities to help them and who feel that teachers believe in them are more willing to take on challenges at school.

How does this translate into supporting their development?
Close relationships between students and teachers place teachers in a better position to help students when they are faced with more difficult situations, such as peer conflict or academic struggles. Students who feel more comfortable with their teachers are also more likely to reveal challenges at home or at school that might interfere with their learning. For example, a student who feels that she can trust her teacher would be more likely to tell a teacher about a peer who is bullying her during recess. While of course, whole-school efforts and policies that support bully-free environments are very important, a sensitive teacher will also work to improve this student’s particular situation. Furthermore, this information might explain why this child has persistent difficulties staying focused after lunch each day — something the teacher was struggling to understand prior to this interaction.

Creating these bonds seems like an obvious thing to do, so why doesn’t it happen more often?
I think most teachers want these bonds with their students. With the increasing demands placed on teachers, it can be difficult to find time to reflect on the relational aspect of the work. It is common for teachers to find it easier to work with children of a particular temperament over others. Recognizing the qualities, beliefs, and experiences that we bring into these relationships as adults and how we can gain support to adjust our approach to best meet the individual needs of students are important steps in the process.

Is it too late for positive bonds to be created once a student is in, say, high school?
When we think about risk factors, generally the earlier the prevention or intervention effort, the more beneficial the result. This notion can also be applied to teacher-student relationships. When students form positive relationships with their teachers earlier in their schooling, as they progress in school, they are able to then take the perspective that teachers can be people who help and care about them. With many young children entering school, their relationships with their teachers might be the first long-term relationship with an adult outside of their home. That experience may inform the way a child views school and teachers going forward. That said, researchers have shown that supportive relationships between adolescents and adults, including school staff, also play very important protective functions for teenagers. Researchers have found connections between adolescents who view their teachers as caring and respectful and the students’ improved academic and social-emotional growth.

Let’s imagine that an individual teacher or a whole school has never thought about this before but now wants to start building stronger relationships with students. What can be done?
Teachers’ efforts to improve relationships with their students are supported when the administration also sees this as a priority in the school culture. Growth in this area will be facilitated when schools devote time to professional development on this topic, protect time for their school staff to reflect on their relationships with students, and provide outlets for school staff to gain support and consultation around this goal.

About the Article

A version of this article originally appeared in the Summer 2008 issue of Ed., the magazine of the Harvard Graduate School of Education.

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photo by Mark Morelli