The Role of Caring in the Teacher-Student Relationship for At-Risk Students |
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| Authors: | Chandra Muller |
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| Institution: | Assistant professor of sociology at the University of Texas at Austin. Her research interests include parental involvement in adolescents' education and school transitions, the relationships between adolescents' sexual behavior and their school experiences and opportunities, and the effects of state assessment policies on student achievement. |
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| Abstract: | This study uses information from both teachers and students to explore how the perceptions of each other's investment in the relationship affects the productivity of the relationship. Using the National Longitudinal Study of 1988 (NELS), I analyze the conditions and academic consequences of students'investment in the relationship with teachers and school. I find that teachers'perceptions that the student puts forth academic effort and students'perceptions that teachers are caring are each weakly associated with mathematics achievement for most students. For students who are judged by their teachers as at risk of dropping out of high school, however, the value for math achievement of having teachers who care is substantial and mitigates against the negative effect of having been judged as at risk. The results suggest that social capital, as defined by a relationship that facilitates action, is especially high for at-risk students who feel their teachers are interested, expect them to succeed, listen to them, praise their effort, and care. |
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