The Importance of Relationships in Education: Reflections of Current Educators

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to seek to understand and describe current educators’ perceptions of building relationships in education. Thirty-five K-12 educators completed reflective writing responses as part of this phenomenological study. The thematic analysis constructed four themes: (a) “students are motivated to learn when strong relationships are formed,” (b) “if they don’t trust you and don’t think you care, learning decreases,” (c) “teachers had a great impact on me that I admire deeply-these teachers are the reason I went into education,” and (d) “they can always google the content.” The findings highlight the significant impact of relationships.