Teacher-Student Relationships in Education—What We Know and What We Don’t (Yet) Know [SYMPOSIUM]

Positive teacher-student relationships (TSR) are key to developing a good school climate in which both teachers and students can thrive. While existing research has brought to light the educational benefits of positive TSR, for instance, by showing that students in classrooms and schools with positive TSR tend to achieve better grades, the evidence base is scattered and lacks some key elements. Specifically, empirical studies on the benefits of positive TSR largely focused on academic achievement and less so on other, educationally relevant outcomes, such as socio-emotional skills, motivation, sense of belonging, or behavior. Moreover, TSR has often been conceptualized differently across studies, and its development in educational contexts has hardly been understood.

This symposium aims to clarify some of these issues by presenting studies that (a) review the conceptualizations and definitions of TSR within the frameworks of school climate; (b) synthesize the evidence base on the relation between TSR and a broad range of educationally relevant outcomes; (c) identify longitudinal trajectories of TSR and their relation to student engagement; and (d) examine the potential of TSR to facilitate a positive error culture and student participation in classrooms. Ultimately, we provide an updated, scientific overview of the existing body of knowledge about the conceptualization and educational potential of TSR and its current gaps. This overview shall not only inform scholars in the field but shall also encourage teachers to strive for positive TSR.