Building Positive Connections with all Students
How Can Teachers Engage Parents in a Positive Relationship?
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Student Teacher Relationships
Overview
This is a template for an inquiry project in a senior level early childhood course.
Purpose of the Project
This purpose of this project is to inform its readers about buillding positive relationships with students. This project will enlighten you about a variety of ways to build relationships with students, which include: personality, engagement with families, and engagement with students. Each section will dive further into detail about why each topic is important in building relationships with students.
Introduction
In education, the role of personality extends beyond individual traits as it serves as a foundation for building meaningful relationships among educators, students, and families. Building a good relationship between educators and students is essential for creating an inclusive and supportive learning environment where students feel valued and motivated to engage in their learning. Family engagement is vital as it reinforces the connection between home and school benefiting students' academic, and social outcomes. Educators should strive to create a welcoming and inviting environment.
Personality And Its Importance In Building Relationships
Personality And Its Importance In Building Relationships:
A teacher’s personality makes a major difference in their relationships with their students. Personalities directly impact how students will feel in the classroom, influence their level of comfort, engagement, and willingness to learn.
A few key components about a teachers personality and student relationships:
Positive classroom environment: A positive attitude and enthusiasm for learning creates a more engaging and supportive classroom environment and encourages student participation and motivation.
Emotional connection: When a teacher shows genuine interest in students as individuals, this helps bring a sense of security to students from their teachers.
Adaptability and flexibility: When a teacher is able to adjust teaching style to suit the personalities of students. This falls back on the emotional connection as well, when a student recognizes their teacher is making the effort, it will help build the relationship.
Role model behavior: A teacher's positive personality traits are key. A teacher who displays patience, kindness, and respect will influence their own behavior and interactions onto their students.
To help understand how personalities help build student-teacher relationships, here is a conversation held with a previous teacher who is now Assistant Director of Trinity Lutheran Early Childhood Center in San Angelo, Texas, Halle Martin (personal conversation, November 14th, 2024).
When having this conversation, Mrs. Martin was asked how she perceives the impact personalities have on shaping student-teacher relationships. Mrs. Martin believes it to be important because depending on your attitude and how you present yourself to your students, they will be able to gather whether or not you truly want to be there. She says that students will show positive behaviors if they see that their teacher genuinely wants to be there, and if students feel their teacher does not want to be there then students will become challenging (personal conversation, November 14th, 2024).
Mrs. Martin also believes that accompanying a strong, positive personality and attitude as a teacher shapes the positive relationships because the teacher is consistent in happily showing up for each and every student. It is important to remember that students will feed off of you, and they know your mood before you even know your mood. Students will also reciprocate this behavior as well (personal conversation, November 14th, 2024).
When discussing this topic with her, Mrs. Martin provided some tips on how to ensure your personality is positively genuine. These tips include:
Communicating thoroughly with students as this will allow them to understand your intentions as their teacher.
Staying positive when discussing behavior. This will help students feel more comfortable as you talk about what went wrong, and it will also instill trust between teacher and student.
Putting yourself in your students shoes. This can help a teacher reflect on their own personality and what they can do differently to make their students feel more welcome and comfortable.
Empathy, this helps students understand that you are caring and you are there for them when they may be struggling.
(Personal conversation, November 14th, 2024).
The Nomads Blog. "Building Positive Student-Teacher Relationships." teachinghouse.com. December 9th, 2024. https://www.teachinghouse.com/post/building-positive-student-teacher-relationships
Engagement With Families
Families are an important part of students' growth, development, and overall success, making their involvement in education essential. A supportive educational environment requires a strong engagement with families. Teachers must go beyond personal connections to encourage family engagement and participate in the school community. Educators should encourage families to be involved in their children’s education by inviting them to participate in classroom activities and asking for their ideas and thoughts on their children’s learning experiences.
Let's begin by digging into family engagement and what is involved.
It is important to recognize these three key categories that connect to family engagement:
- Behavioral: Families who actively participate in school events, volunteering, and or attending meetings, demonstrate their commitment to their child's education.
- Emotional: The families must feel trust and respect and feel valued by the teacher and school. Building this emotional connection fosters a sense of belonging and support.
- Cognitive: This involves the families' understanding of the educational process, curriculum, and ways to support their child's learning at home.
The Impact of Effective Communication and Engagement on Families:
- Informed families are better equipped to support their children's learning at home, resulting in improved academic outcomes and a more balanced family unit
- Effective communication and engagement involve a clear understanding of the educational process, including curricula, assessment methods, and school policies
- Regular communication and engagement allow families to express concerns or challenges related to their child's academic performance or social interactions
- Working together to address concerns helps prevent misunderstandings and fosters a strong partnership in the student’s education
Schools Can Promote Inclusivity By:
- Implementing proactive communication that acknowledges and respects cultural differences
- Connect with families from diverse backgrounds to foster an inclusive environment
- Make families feel valued and supported through outreach efforts
- Build stronger relationships with families, enhancing their sense of belonging in the school community
Structure Communication to Consider the Needs of Families:
Use Clear and Accessible Language:
- Use simple, clear language in all communications to ensure that all families can understand the information provided
- Have communication and documents in the primary language spoken by families
Consistent and Timely
- Have a regular schedule for communication to keep families informed about school events, important dates, and updates
Family Success Stories
- Share stories from families who have positively engaged with the school community
- Celebrate families, showcasing how their involvement has benefited students and the school
Create an Inviting Environment
- Communication should be friendly and welcoming, encouraging families to reach out and engage with the school
- Use language that promotes the value of family contributions
Students and Family Needs Are Unique
- Be willing to adapt and refine strategies based on the changing needs of families and the school community
- Reflect on whether the communication methods are working effectively
It is important to understand cultivating family engagement requires effort from families and educators. Teachers must do their part to make families feel safe, respected, and valued, and to encourage families to be actively engaged in their children’s education.
Key Points to Enhance Family Engagement in Education
Build Relationships:
- Get to know the families by showing interest in their lives and their children
- Teachers should participate in the school community
Regular Communication:
- Multiple communication sources like newsletters, emails, and parent-teacher conferences (flexible meeting times and virtual appointments availability)
- Surveys and feedback: a great way to find ways to help students and families
- Utilizing tools like class websites or apps
Family Involvement Activities:
- Events like family nights, workshops, or open houses
- Encouraging parents to volunteer in the classroom or help with school events
- Cultural celebrations: encourage families to share their traditions and culture
- Educators should personally thank attendees
Engagement With Students, and Why?
To define student engagement, it is important to know there are 3 different categories that engagement is fueled by
Behavioral “draws on the idea of participation; it includes involvement in academic and social or extracurricular activities and is considered crucial for achieving positive academic outcomes and preventing dropping out”
Emotional “encompasses positive and negative reactions to teachers, classmates, academics, and school and is presumed to create ties to an institution and influence willingness to do the work”
Cognitive “draws on the idea of investment; it incorporates thoughtfulness and willingness to exert the effort necessary to comprehend complex ideas and master difficult skills”
Go ahead and try thinking of examples of engagement within these categories. Are these examples student-driven, teacher-driven, or both?
Next, watch this video and consider how engagement influences student-teacher relationships. How can teachers be more responsible with their student interactions and ensure students are being supported despite things such as a language barrier?
While some kids might rely on communicating regularly with their teacher to build a trusting relationship, some students may not understand or comprehend those gestures the same. That is why pursuing engagement beyond simple communication can help bridge those gaps. As the video said, "Actions speak louder than words."
The key takeaway is that cultivating engagement requires effort from both the student and the institution.
Teachers are at the heart of most school institutions, as we've already discussed that personality and family/community engagement are highly important in supporting and building strong student/teacher relationships. The matter of engaging with students as learners but also individuals is just as important. Being aware of school policies, and the environment is important. Is your school focused on producing high test scores, or is your school focused beyond the goal of academics and working to encourage building more positive student/teacher relationships?
"Bridging the power gap: the impact of pedagogical strategies and relationship-building on student success" by Matthew D. Marmet is licensed under CC BY 4.0
"Teacher finds it hard to build a strong, trusting relationships with a multilingual student" by Sarah Ottow is licensed under CC BY 4.0
Final Thoughts
There are three factors to producing and building good, strong, and trusting student relationships. Personality(of the teacher), School/Family engagement, and student engagement. Without teachers who consider their students and student needs, there would be little for students to value beyond education. These factors help guide and shape student & teacher relationships toward academic success and personal growth for both the students and the teacher. Education is more than just the content we teach, and we encourage you to implement these strategies if you are not already implementing a strategy that supports your interactions with students and supports the foundations of healthy, positive, and professional student-teacher relationships.
Bibliography
Australian Education Research Organization. (2023, December). Building positive connections with all students. https://www.edresearch.edu.au/sites/default/files/2023-12/building-positive-connections-with-students-aa.pdf
Building Positive Student-Teacher Relationships. (n.d.). The Nomads Blog. https://www.teachinghouse.com/blogs
European School Education Platform. (2020, January). How can teachers engage parents in a positive relationship?. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=meUirqBpvzE
H. Martin, personal communication, November 14th, 2024
Marmet, M. D. (2023, September). Bridging the power gap: The impact of pedagogical strategies and relationship-building on student success – doaj. Journal of Research in Innovative Teaching & Learning. https://doaj.org/article/d37397b79f824ec1b5df7710549c147d
Sarah Ottow. (2024). Teacher finds it hard to build a strong, trusting relationships with a multilingual student. YouTube. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=zOpFozXIhBg