The Influence of Teacher-child Relationships on Students' Behaviour

The main objectives of schooling are childrens’ academic achievement and social emotional development. However, some students have difficulties achieving these goals and also show some behavioural problems in their learning. Many professionals spend time in diagnosing and remediating individual students’ behaviour. Little attempt has been addressed to understand how classroom level can influence to students’ behaviour. Research on teacher-student relationships has found that quality teacher-child interactions are a critical factor at the early school years. Teachers should be aware of the impact of quality relationships on students and its effect on students’ academic and social emotional behaviour and on learning. This paper suggests that school reform should give attention to the development of positive teacher-child relationships through responsive, supportive and caring climates at classrooms and school levels.