The Interplay Between Adolescents’ Perceptions of Teacher-Student Relationships and Their Academic Self-Regulation: Does Liking a Specific Teacher Matter?

Abstract

Although positive teacher‐student relationships are known to aid students’ academic self‐regulation, the emotional aspects of teacher liking are often neglected within research. The present study used a large sample of seventh‐ and eighth‐grade students (N = 1,088; MAge = 13.7) in secondary schools in Germany to investigate whether the motivation students gain from specific well‐liked teachers (i.e., that students identify) can moderate the relation between their perception of teacher‐student relationships overall and academic self‐regulation (intrinsic motivation, identified, introjected, and external regulation). By means of latent moderated structural equations, students’ motivation based on liking one specific teacher was found to moderate the association between teacher‐student relationships and intrinsic motivation. The present study makes a contribution to the existing research on teacher‐student relationships and academic self‐regulation by investigating the role of students’ motivation related to the liking of a specific teacher. Results indicate that when early adolescent students can identify a well‐liked teacher, they tend to have higher levels of academic motivation. Hence, students’ motivation based on liking a single teacher compensates for generally low‐quality teacher‐student relationships and their respective impact on students’ intrinsic motivation.

Academic Year Changes in Student-Teacher Developmental Relationships and Their Linkage to Middle and High School Students’ Motivation: A Mixed Methods Study

“…Relationships have long been established as a critical element of youth development. In educational settings, research has demonstrated that student-teacher relationships can influence students’ academic engagement, motivation, and achievement (Archambault, Janosz, & Chouinard, 2012; Bernstein-Yamashiro & Noam, 2013; Collie, Martin, Papworth, & Ginns, 2016; Cornelius-White, 2007; Goodenow, 1993; Hughes & Cao, 2017; Kannapel & Clements, 2005; Lee, 2012; Raufelder, Scherber, & Wood, 2016; Sointu, Savolainen, Lappalainen, & Lambert, 2017; Vollet, Kindermann, & Skinner, 2017; Wang, 1990; Wentzel, Russell, & Baker, 2016; Wentzel, 2009, 2012). The benefits of strong student-teacher relationships extend beyond such proximal factors related to academic success, and are also associated with factors related to the broader school context, such as perceptions of school climate (Adams, Ware, Miskell, & Forsyth, 2014), a feeling of belonging or connectedness (Cohen, McCabe, Michelli, & Pcikerall, 2009), and improved student behavior (Bernstein-Yamashiro & Noam, 2013).…”

Student and teacher perceptions on student-teacher relationship quality: A middle school perspective

“…We measured students' mathematics interest because student interest in academic domains is related to social dimensions such as student-teacher relationships and students' need for belongingness (Bergin, 1999(Bergin, , 2016Raufelder et al, 2016;Walton, Cohen, Cwir, & Spencer, 2012). Students' interest in academic domains is also associated with academic engagement, self-efficacy, and achievement (Bergin, 2016;Tosto et al, 2016;Upadyaya & Eccles, 2014).…”

“…Furthermore, the quality of student-teacher relationships can be particularly important in middle school (Eccles et al., 1993; McCollum & Yoder, 2011; Wentzel et al., 2010). For example, when middle school students perceive positive social supports from their teachers, they show increased academic interest and higher levels of engagement compared to peers without such relationships (Raufelder, Scherber, & Wood, 2016; Roorda et al., 2011; Wentzel, Baker, & Russell, 2012; Wentzel et al., 2010). A meta-analysis focused on adolescent students found an effect size of 0.40 between student-teacher relationships and school engagement and an effect size of 0.20 between student-teacher relationships and achievement (Roorda et al., 2011).…”

Teachers’ social support, somatic complaints and academic motivation in children and early adolescents

“…The link between teacher perception and readiness to study the subject is rather intuitive, but it is also based on previous research. For example, Raufelder, Scherber and Wood () found that when early adolescent students could identify a well‐liked teacher, they tended to have higher levels of academic motivation. What is more, students’ motivation based on liking a single teacher compensated for generally low‐quality teacher‐student relationships and had an impact on students’ intrinsic motivation (Raufelder et al ., ).…”

“…For example, Raufelder, Scherber and Wood () found that when early adolescent students could identify a well‐liked teacher, they tended to have higher levels of academic motivation. What is more, students’ motivation based on liking a single teacher compensated for generally low‐quality teacher‐student relationships and had an impact on students’ intrinsic motivation (Raufelder et al ., ). Teachers and parents are often viewed as the most important contributors to students’ achievement because they have direct interaction with children themselves, and play a direct role in developing and maintaining the motivation to study (Barbarin & Aikens, ; Kendal, Keeley & Callery, ).…”