Evaluation of the Teacher–Student Relationship Inventory in American High School Students

Abstract

This study provided an independent examination of the Teacher Student Relationship Inventory (TSRI), a teacher report measure developed in Singapore. A total of 500 American high school students were rated by 84 teachers. Exploratory factor analysis supported the existence of three factors representing instrumental help, satisfaction, and conflict; 11 of 14 items emerged as relatively pure indicators. Evidence of concurrent validity was provided through correlations, in the expected directions, between students' ratings of their overall relationships with their teachers (teacher support and negative attitudes towards teachers) and TSRI satisfaction and conflict scores; instrumental help was unrelated to student perceptions of general teacherstudent relations. Criterion-related validity was established through significant correlations in the expected directions between TSRI satisfaction and conflict scores and multiple indicators of students' psychological and academic functioning. Instrumental help co-occurred with greater academic achievement but also with more teacher-observed symptoms of psychopathology. Findings provide initial support for use of the TSRI with American adolescents and suggest teacher-rated satisfaction as particularly relevant to students' academic and psychological functioning.Keywords teacher-student relations, high school students, teacher-report rating scale, independent evaluation Teacher-student relationship quality is a critical factor within the school environment that predicts students' immediate and future outcomes (Hughes, Cavell, & Jackson, 1999). Most methods of quantifying teacher-student relationship quality have been developed for use with younger students who spend most of their time with a single teacher. Aside from student self-report, there are few options for assessing teacher-student relationships in the secondary years. This study examined the validity and utility of a recently developed teacher report measure of this construct among a high school sample.

Student Version of the Teacher–Student Relationship Inventory (S-TSRI): Development, Validation and Invariance

“…Those who failed reported significantly higher conflict with their teachers and significantly higher scores on aggression. Consistent with the research literature using samples from North America and Asia as would be expected, compared to students with lower academic achievement, those with higher academic achievement were more satisfied with the teacher-student relationship, had less conflict with their teachers, and more positive attitudes toward their teachers and schools (Chong et al, 2010;Sivan and Chan, 2013;Suldo et al, 2014). Interestingly, both the students from the pass and fail groups reported a similar level of instrumental help from their teachers.…”

“…Most studies focus on the teacher-student relationship in the general population, whereas few studies have examined these relationships specifically in students with low academic achievement. In general, students with higher academic achievement were more satisfied with the teacher-student relationship and had less conflict compared with those with lower academic achievement (Kokkinos et al, 2009;Sivan and Chan, 2013;Suldo et al, 2014). However, a positive teacher-student relationship is arguably even more crucial to students with academic problems or failure than it is to other students (Wu et al, 2010).…”

“…Subsequent studies continued to find that instrumental help increased students' general interest in classroom activities and promoted their prosocial and compliant behaviors (Wentzel et al, 2010). Suldo et al (2014) found that students who were satisfied with their teacher-student relationships performed better academically and held more positive attitudes toward teachers. Such students also had lower absenteeism and fewer internal and external problems.…”

“…This is the only scale that was originally developed in an Asian context to measure the teacher-student relationship. The TSRI has dimensions such as satisfaction, instrumental help, and conflict, and has been used in Singapore (Ang and Raine, 2009;Chong et al, 2010;Huan et al, 2012), Australia (Kavenagh et al, 2012), and the United States (Suldo et al, 2014).…”

Fostering interests for teaching: Job satisfaction and motivation fators of Malaysian TVET instructors

“…Specifically, the school climate influences the gamut of intrinsic values that include confidence and the overall job satisfaction. Along these lines, teachers are urged to have a fresh perspective on teacher-student relationship as they are closely associated to student academic outcomes, including achievement in courses (GPA), school behavior (attendance, ODRs), and positive beliefs about schools (academic self-perceptions, valuing school) [20]. As stated above, the overall school climate possesses a direct linkage with the overall job satisfaction of TVET instructors in dealing with teaching and learning processes at TVET institutions.…”