A good teacher-student relationship to promote success in school

Who says new school year usually means new students for a teacher. And with that comes, as you have probably experienced, the challenge of building positive relationships with young people. The statistics show it: teacher-student relations are at the center of learning and represent an increasingly important concern for teachers.

Because in addition to transmitting knowledge and skills, they are agents of change given the frequency and consistency of their contact with young people (daily, on average 6 hours per day and 180 days per year). This subject has also been explored in many editions of our professional periodical.

A study led by Marie-Hélène Véronneau in 2017 revealed that “the relationship that students develop with their teacher in the third year of secondary school positively influences their intrinsic academic motivation in the following year. This result was replicated the following year, that is, when students move from the fourth to the fifth year of secondary school. "

This concern is also present among primary school teachers. There is even talk of new school supervision practices such as loop teaching, or the fact of keeping the same student-teachers for at least two consecutive years. Indeed, the looping "Contributes not only to obtaining better results in mathematics, reading and writing, but also to the acquisition and enrichment of vocabulary".

Benefits for the teacher too?

The quality of the teacher-learner relationship is also a reflection of student behavior. According to review of the literature on the teacher-student relationship, “Students who want to be approved by their teacher tend to adopt behaviors of effort and surpassing oneself when performing school tasks. "

According to this same study, the benefits of a positive relationship are reflected in particular by proximity, ie "sharing common motivations, working to achieve common goals, informal contacts outside the classroom".

Who says new school year also means new relationships, new sharing, and new things to learn from both sides. Happy school year, dear teachers!

To continue your reflection, discover how Mr. Éric Théroux uses the Process Communication® model to serve his relationship with his students. Read the article here or listen to the educational meeting.