Chambers 1

Preface

The point of this multigenre paper is to examine the effect of a teacher-student

relationship on students. This project stemmed from my experiences within my clinical

classroom, and from being a former student. I would see a multitude of students not reaching

their full potential due to having negative relationships with their teachers. I wanted to conduct a

research project where I examined the effect of a positive teacher-student relationship on the

students who are considered to be at risk. I found that students who do not have a positive

relationship with their teachers are less likely to succeed in the classroom. My hope is that my

research will help teachers see the importance of having a positive relationship with their

students and open their eyes to what it is like for a student who is at risk. What would the

difference be if teachers maintained a positive relationship with their students throughout their

careers?
 Chambers 2

Table of contents

1. The factoring of a positive teacher-

student relationship Pg. 3-5

2. Annotated Bibliography Pg. 6-9

3. No Help Poem pg. 10-11

4. Students in Poverty Graph pg. 12

5. Negative Teacher-Student pg. 13

Relationship Drawing

6. Positive Teacher-Student pg. 14

Relationship Drawing

7. Works Cited PG. 15

8. End Notes pg. 16-17

 Chambers 3

The Factoring of a Positive Teacher-Student Relationship

My time as a student and as a future teacher has taught me a valuable lesson when it

comes to a teacher’s relationship with their students. Growing up in a rural area, I have seen

firsthand the struggle that multiple teenagers go through in order to survive. A lot of the people I

went to school with had to work in order to support their families. This resulted in the students

getting home at a late hour and turning around to wake up at 6 in the morning to get to school on

time. Most of the students who worked didn’t care if they learned anything in school because

they were mainly concerned with who was going to pick up their siblings after school so they

could get to work. However, the teachers who cared and tried to help these students made a mass

impact on their lives, and the student was able to focus on their studies because of it.

In fact, studies have shown that students benefit more from a positive relationship with

their teachers than without one. According to Chandra Muller,

The results described above suggest that the emergence of social capital in the teacher-

student relationship for at-risk students may be related to the students’ perceptions that

the teacher will act in the best interests of the student; the amount at-risk students learn

may depend on whether they perceive that teachers care. (250-252)

What this means is that when a student perceives that a teacher cares about the child and

wants them to succeed then the student will be more likely to succeed in their classroom. If a

student determines that a teacher does not care about the students and that they are only there for

a pay check, the student is more likely to not do well. As teachers, our main concern must be for

the student to succeed within the classroom. We do not know what the child is going through in

their lives and therefore we must be a positive influence on their lives.

 Chambers 4

Apart from the academic aspect of school, according to Sara Rimm-Kaufman and Lia

Sandilos, “aggressive students who have positive relationships with teachers are more likely to

be accepted by peers than aggressive students who lack positive relationships with their

teachers.” This means that the students will benefit from peer relationships as well. Other

students do not want to be around a student who may be perceived as someone who causes havoc

within the classroom, but if the student has a good relationship with their students then more

peers will want to be associated with them. The way to do this is to have a social capital

relationship with the student. Muller describes that, Norms of the teacher-student

relationship…include the idea that both teacher and student are to act in ways that promote

learning. Behavior that violates those norms may be perceived as less than legitimate (242). A

positive and successful teacher-student relationship is one that promotes learning in a welcoming

and trustworthy environment; where the student is free to voice their opinions, and to have a say

within the classroom. When this is done every student is able to succeed to their full potential.

Although there are many other factors that come into play when in comes to teacher-

student relationships, these are the factors that seem to benefit the educational system the most.

As a teacher, you need to find what works best for you and your students, this way you can

create the perfect environment for your classroom. Teachers need to understand that each student

has their own troubles and we need to be cautious of that. Students will need someone to be there

for them and support them because they want to succeed they just might not know how. Having a

positive teacher-student relationship is beneficial to everyone that comes into your classroom and

should be something that you continue to have throughout your time as a teacher.
 Chambers 5

Works Cited

Muller, Chandra. “The Role of Caring in the Teacher-Student Relationship for At-Risk

Students.” Sociological Inquiry, vol. 71, no. 2, 2001, pp. 241–255., doi:10.1111/j.1475-

682x.2001.tb01110.x.

Rimm-Kaufman, Sara, and Lia Sandilos. “Improving Students' Relationships with Teachers to

Provide Essential Supports for Learning.” American Psychological Association,

American Psychological Association, 2019, www.apa.org/education/k12/relationships.

 Chambers 6

Annotated Bibliography

Jiang, Yang, et al. “Basic Facts about Low-Income Children.” NCCP, 29 Feb. 2016,

www.nccp.org/publications/pub_1145.html#:~:targetText=Among%20children%20with%

20at%20least,poor%20families%20(Figure%207).

This study shows the statistics of the number of students who live in poverty within the U.S. The

study found that 44% of students live in what is considered to be a low-income family, and 21%

is found to live in poor families. In fact, students are twice as more likely to live in poverty than

the elderly. Meaning that they do not have enough funds to support them or their families. This

of course varies by race, location, parent education, and opportunity. The study shows that those

of a minority are more likely to live in poverty than others, and that if their parents do not have a

diploma of higher education they are more likely to live in poverty. It also found that students

who live in the southern part of the U.S. is more likely to live in poverty than those in the

northern part of the country.

Martin, Andrew J., and Rebecca J. Collie. “Teacher-Student Relationships and Students’

Engagement in High School: Does the Number of Negative and Positive Relationships

With Teachers Matter?” Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 111, no. 5, July 2019,

pp. 861–876. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1037/edu0000317

This journal article is a research study about the result of a positive teacher-student relationship

on high school students. The study involved a total of 2,079 students from 18 different high

schools, and they measured whether teacher-student relationship had anything to do with the
 Chambers 7

student’s involvement in school. It was found that the student who had a positive teacher-student

relationship were more involved in school and continued to increase as they created more

positive relationships with their teachers. Students who had a majority of negative teacher-

student relationships was not affected by teacher-student relationships. When the number of

negative teacher-student relationships increased their involvement was still lower than the

students with a positive relationship. Therefore, if you want your students to be more involved in

school, they need to have a multitude of positive teacher-student relationships.

Muller, Chandra. “The Role of Caring in the Teacher-Student Relationship for At-Risk

Students.” Sociological Inquiry, vol. 71, no. 2, 2001, pp. 241–255., doi:10.1111/j.1475-

682x.2001.tb01110.x.

This study analyzes the affect of a positive teacher-student relationship on students who are

considered to be at risk. The study found that when a teacher acts when investing in the

relationship the student is more likely to succeed. Students who are considered at risk and are

constantly judged or criticized by their teachers are less likely to succeed because they don’t see

the point. However, when the teacher puts forth effort in the relationship and gives the student an

opportunity to succeed, then that student will also put forth effort within the classroom. Even if

the student is not succeeding academically, the study found that the student will at least try to

make a change in their academic success because they don’t want to disappoint their teacher.

Rimm-Kaufman, Sara, and Lia Sandilos. “Improving Students' Relationships with Teachers to

Provide Essential Supports for Learning.” American Psychological Association,

American Psychological Association, 2019, www.apa.org/education/k12/relationships.

 Chambers 8

This article shows teachers why it is important to have a positive relationship with their students,

as well as what a positive relationship looks like. The article states that when students have a

positive relationship with their teachers the student is more engaged in the classroom and is more

likely to behave better than their fellow peers. It was also found that when a student has a

positive relationship with their teachers it improves their social development. The student is

more likely to be accepted by their peers and other adults because of the relationship with their

teachers. In the study, they found that boys had more improvement in school than girls when it

came to a teacher-student relationship. The end result found that it is more beneficial for the

student and the teacher when they are involved in a positive relationship.

Romano, Tom. Blending Genre, Altering Style: Writing Multigenre Papers. Boynton/Cook,
2000.

This book talks about multigenre papers/projects that you can do with your students, and how

they can put their own personalities within each genre. Romano shows how writers have to show

what they are talking about within their topic and how they must put their own personal

experience in the genre. Throughout the book he uses different student examples and shows how

each student uses their experiences to write their genre while also sticking to the guidelines. This

book never states what a child did wrong, but instead, embraces each student and their writing in

a way that is positive and accepting. This makes the student want to learn how to write correctly

and cohesively throughout the course of their education.

Rosales, John. “Why Students Drop Out: The Economic Pressures That Make Leaving School

Unavoidable.” NEA Today, 29 June 2015, neatoday.org/2015/06/08/why-students-drop-

out-the-economic-pressures-that-make-leaving-school-unavoidable/.
 Chambers 9

In this article, the research shows that 30% of high school dropouts do so to work a job to

support their families. It states that students would rather stay in school than, but they have to

drop out in order to support their families. With the help of the students they boost their family’s

poverty line by 42% and they are finally able to support their families. Students believe that it is

their job to provide for their family because they are not receiving any help from the federal

government. Only 17% is receiving social security and 23% is receiving food stamps, meaning

that the other percent of the U.S. poverty families have to find a way to provide for themselves.

Meaning that the students have to step up and act to help their families survive. All of this was

found in research that the article conducted, and it seems to be accurate.

 Chambers 10

No Help

Crying through the drywall

Screams from the hall

I can hear the pounding

As the pain surrounds me

The sun shines through

Awakening my night time blues

I get dressed in hopes of a new day

Praying that kids won’t look my way

Mrs. Cook yells at me for coming in late

If only she knew I had to pull my own weight

Maybe then she’d understand my heavy head

And why I cry anytime someone mentions a bed

I don’t like to learn

I have too much concern

No one cares for me

So why wont she let me be

My look of plead
 Chambers 11

Should be the only thing she needs

To see that I am screaming for help

But she always dismisses my yelp

Why try when everyone hates me

I have more to worry about it seems

I want to learn but no one gives me a chance

So, I guess I will remain in my trance.

 Chambers 12

Student Poverty Rates

24%

44%

Low Income
Working
Middle/High
32%

Works Cited

Jiang, Yang, et al. “Basic Facts about Low-Income Children.” NCCP, 29 Feb. 2016,

www.nccp.org/publications/pub_1145.html#:~:targetText=Among%20children%20with%

20at%20least,poor%20families%20(Figure%207).

Rosales, John. “Why Students Drop Out: The Economic Pressures That Make Leaving School

Unavoidable.” NEA Today, 29 June 2015, neatoday.org/2015/06/08/why-students-drop-

out-the-economic-pressures-that-make-leaving-school-unavoidable/.
Chambers 13
Chambers 14
 Chambers 15

Works Cited

Jiang, Yang, et al. “Basic Facts about Low-Income Children.” NCCP, 29 Feb. 2016,

www.nccp.org/publications/pub_1145.html#:~:targetText=Among%20children%20with%

20at%20least,poor%20families%20(Figure%207).

Martin, Andrew J., and Rebecca J. Collie. “Teacher-Student Relationships and Students’

Engagement in High School: Does the Number of Negative and Positive Relationships

With Teachers Matter?” Journal of Educational Psychology, vol. 111, no. 5, July 2019,

pp. 861–876. EBSCOhost, doi:10.1037/edu0000317

Muller, Chandra. “The Role of Caring in the Teacher-Student Relationship for At-Risk

Students.” Sociological Inquiry, vol. 71, no. 2, 2001, pp. 241–255., doi:10.1111/j.1475-

682x.2001.tb01110.x.

Rimm-Kaufman, Sara, and Lia Sandilos. “Improving Students' Relationships with Teachers to

Provide Essential Supports for Learning.” American Psychological Association,

American Psychological Association, 2019, www.apa.org/education/k12/relationships.

Romano, Tom. Blending Genre, Altering Style: Writing Multigenre Papers. Boynton/Cook,
2000.

Rosales, John. “Why Students Drop Out: The Economic Pressures That Make Leaving School

Unavoidable.” NEA Today, 29 June 2015, neatoday.org/2015/06/08/why-students-drop-

out-the-economic-pressures-that-make-leaving-school-unavoidable/.
 Chambers 16

End Notes
1. The Factoring of a Positive Teacher-Student Relationship

For this genre, I used two articles one by Chandra Muller and another by Sara Rimm-Kaufman

and Lia Sandilos. Both of these articles helped me learn what the effect of a positive teacher-

student relationship was, and how we can have this within our own classrooms. These documents

provided me with enough information to accurately write a paper that showed the importance of

a teacher-student relationship on a child.

2. Annotated Bibliography

For this genre, I used six articles that I felt showed, not only what a teacher-student relationship

was, but also statistics on children who are considered at risk. Within this genre, I also used

Blending Genre, Altering Style by Tom Romano because I felt he had the best example of what it

is like to have a positive relationship with his students. He was able to use each student work in a

positive way, that never showed criticism.

3. No Help Poem

Using all the information that I gained from my papers, I used it to create a poem from the view

point of a child who is considered to be at risk. The child doesn’t experience a good relationship

with his teacher, and that effects his work and his social development. In Rimm-Kaufman and

Sandilo’s article, it discusses how a student with a negative teacher-student relationship will not

develop well socially. Which is why the student is facing problems.

4. Student’s in Poverty Graph

I wanted to create a graph that would show the percentage of students who work or who live in

poverty. The articles I used were full of statistics about children who live in poverty and their

families. I thought that these articles provided wonderful information about children, and they
 Chambers 17

helped me create a graph. The articles I used were by Yang and Rosales because they provided

accurate information from multiple research articles.

5. Negative Teacher-Student Relationship Drawing

For this picture, I used the information that I had gained from all sources to create an image of

what a child who has a negative teacher-student relationship would look like. I provided enough

information within the picture that I believe it accurately portrays what the child would look like

if they were considered to be at risk.

6. Positive Teacher-Student Relationship Drawing

For this picture, I used the information that I had gained from all the sources to create an image

of what a child who has a positive teacher-student relationship would look like. I provided

enough information within the picture that it shows how a student would succeed with a positive

relationship with their teacher.