RelationshipsDeborah Stipek

In this era of accountability and No Child Left Behind(NCLB), test scores are all that matter. Or are they?Could our preoccupation with test scores be producingclassroom conditions that actually undermine studentleaming? When tests become high-stakes, teachers natu-

rally focus their attention on the knowledge and skills thetests measure—leaving less time to engage students inconversation about personal issues or make them feel valuedand supported. Feeling pressured to produce higher testscores, teachers become more controlling and less patient,particularly with students who lag behind.

Ironically, these effects of NCLB get in the way of achievingthe very goals the law aims to promote. Learning requireseffort, and one of the best predictors of students' effort andengagement in school is the relationships they have with theirteachers (Osterman, 2000). To promote high academic stan-dards, teachers need to create supportive social contexts anddevelop positive relationships with students.

Being a caring and supportive

teacher means holding students

accountable while providing the

support they need to succeed.

For 30 years, 1 have been conducting research onstudents' motivation to learn. 1 have interviewed hundreds ofstudents from preschool through high school to identify theclassroom practices that engender effort in schoolwork. Myobservations confirm a broad body of research that hasdemonstrated that students function more effectively whenthey feel respected and valued and function poorly whentbey feel disrespected or marginalized (National ResearcbCouncil, 2004; Ryan & Deci, 2000). When students have asecure relationship witb their teachers, tbey are morecomfortable taking risks that enhance learning—tacklingchallenging tasks, persisting when they run into difficulty, orasking questions when they are confused. Urban studentsclaim that when a teacher shows genuine concern for them,

they feel that tbey owe the teachersomething in return. They don't wantto disappoint a teacher who caresabout them (Davidson. 1999). Fortu-nately, research has revealed a greatdeal about the kinds of teacherbebavior and the school structurestbat promote students' feelings ofbelonging.

How Students KnowTeachers CareYoung children share their feelings andinformation about tbemselves withteachers wbo are affectionate andnurturing. These close relationshipswith teachers lead to higher levels ofstudent engagement and achievement(Pianta, 1999). Specific behaviors tbatpromote positive relationships withyoung children include listening totheir concerns, responding to trans-gressions gently and with explanationsrather than sharply and v^tb punish-ment, and showing positive emotions(smiling, being playful), Wben youngcbildren are asked bow tbey knowtheir teachers care about tbem, tbeyrefer to teacbers being attentive ("Sbesays hi to me when I come in tberoom"); addressing tbeir nonacademic needs ("She saves asnack for me if 1 miss snack time"); and being fair ("Shemakes sure 1 get a turn"). The personal relationsbips tbatthese behaviors engender are particularly valuable for chil-dren wbo come to school with poor social skills (Pianta,Stuhlman, & Hamre, 2002).

Adolescents report that they work harder for teacbers wbotreat them as individuals and express interest in theirpersonal lives outside scbool. Canng teachers, tbey report,are also honest, fair, and trusting (Davidson & Phelan, 1999).These teachers grant students some autonomy and opportu-nities for decision making—for example, by giving tbemcboices in assignments, engaging tbem in developing class-room rules, and encouraging them to express tbeir opinionsin classroom discussions.

46 EDUCATIONAL LEADERSHIP/SEPTEMBER 2006

Matt The key to raising achievement is connectingstudents with teachers who support them notjust as learners, but also as people.

The social dimension of classrooms may be particularlyimportant for at-nsk youth. When researchers ask youthswho have dropped out of high school why they left school,the young people frequently say it was because no one cared.Those who stay in school cite meaningful relationships withadults who show an interest in them as individuals (NationaiResearch Council, 2004). In a 1997 Public Agenda phonesuT\-ey, 64 percent of students claimed that they would learnmore if tbeir teachers "personally cared about their studentsas people"; unfortunately, only 30 percent claimed that mostof tbeir teachers did care. According to a recent large surveyof high school students, African American students wereparticularly responsive to teachers wbo showed that tbeycared about the students' learning (Ferguson, 2002), Whenasked why tbey worked hard when they did, 47 percent

checked "My teachers encourage me towork hard"; only 15 percent checked"My teacher demanded it."

Nurturing ThroughHigh ExpectationsBeing a canng and supportive teacherdoes not mean coddling; rather, itmeans holding students accountablewhile providing tbe support they needlo succeed. One adolescent in a low-income, bigh-crime community in Cali-fornia told me tbat be liked his highschool because tbe teacbers "sit on yourface." He explained tbat wben theteachers weren't sure tbat studentsreally understood something, theystuck with tbem, got tbem help, or gavethem some materials to help themfigure it out. If students hadn't donetheir homework, teachers made themstay tn at lunch or after school to finishit. If they didn't do their homework forseveral days in a row, teacbers calledtheir parents. Conversations withstudents in botb urban and suburbanschools bave convinced me tbat as longas teacbers are providing tbe supportstudents need, the students interpretteachers' efforts to hold them account-

able as evidence that tbey care.

Consistent witb my own observations, research on adoles-cents finds that students in this age group define canngteacbers as those who communicate directly and regularlywith them about their academic progress and make sure theyunderstand wbat has been taught (Wentzel, 2002). Wbenresearchers asked urban high scbool students what advicethey would give a new teacher, one student replied,

li there's confusion on my face, I want you to see it. If there'sdisagreement, 1 want you to say, "You disagree? Why?"

Another student complained about a particularly uncaringteacher:

He's just writing things on the board. . . . He dotsn't look at theclass like, "Do you understand?" He's just teaching it to us. He

A S S O C I A T I O N FOR S U P E R V I S I O N AND C U R R I C U L U M D E V E L O P M E N 47

sees that a couple of students understandiL and he movL-s on. He doesn't makea space for us to ask, (Cushman, 2002,p, 8)

The press for learning that manyadolescents \iew as evidence of a caringteacher differs from the /itrssurc forlearning created by NCLB. Teacherspress students to learn hy encouragingthem, paying attention to their workand giving constructive feedhack,refusing to accept halfhearted efforts,providing assistance when studentsneed it, and refusing to give up onstudents. Holding students accountahlewithout this support and encourage-ment is likely to discourage andalienaie them rather than motivatethem.

Supporting Positive Student-Teacher RelationshipsWhat goes around comes around. Thesocial context for adults affects thesocial context for students. Teacherswho feel respected, trusted, and caredabout as individuals are in a muchhetter position to offer the samesupport to their students. Schooladministrators can emphasize that rela-tionships matter hy devoting profes-sional development time to the socialcontext of classrooms. Its equallyimportant, however, that administratorsprovide time and opportunities forteachers to develop common goals andto huild close, collegial relationshipswith one another.

It is crucial to structure schools toallow for sustained contact betweenstudents and teachers. Small schoolsand class sizes help. Schools can alsoorganize classes and teaching schedulesto reduce the number of students ateacher sees each day. Middle and highschools, for example, have experi-mented with teams of teachers whowork with 60-100 students,

Multiyear grouping is one schedulingoption that enables teachers to develop

sustained relationships with students.For example, a school may establishK-1, 2-3, and 4-5 classes so thatstudents are with the same teacher orset of teachers for two years. Anotheroption is looping, in which one teacheror a set of teachers moves up with agroup of students for two or moreyears.

In secondary schools, blockscheduling, involving classes at least 90minutes long, gives teachers moreopportunity to interact with studentsfor sustained periods of time; classesare less rushed and thus more likely toencourage informal as well as academicinteractions. Policies that facilitate one-on-one access to teachers, such ashaving teachers in their classrooms 30minutes before or after school—or allo-cating some other specific time duringthe day v^hen they are available for helpor conversation—also help huild strongstudent-teacher relationships,

Ad\isor)' groups are anothercommon strategy that schools use toensure that every student has a closepersonal relationship with at least oneadult. Each adult in the school—

including teachers and sometimesnonprofessional staff—serves as advisorfor a small group of students (usuallyabout 20) for the entire time thestudents are at the school. When I talkto students from low-income commu-nities in high schools that have such aprogram, they invariably refer to theiradvisor as playing a crucial role m theirpersistence and commitment tofinishing high school. Many refer totheir advisor as a parent figure: "She'slike a mom; she really knows me andkeeps an eye on me," "He really wantsme to go to college, and I don't want todisappoint him,"

Schook should take particular care topromote good relationships with thestudents who are most at risk academi-cally Unfortunately, teachers often favorand develop more personal, supportiverelationships with high-achie\angstudents than with low-achievingstudents. Tracking magnifies this effect(Osterman, 2000), Eliminating trackingcan go a long way toward reducingdifferential teacher treatment of studentsand giving more students an opportu-nity to feel supported and valued by

4 8 E D U C A T I O N A L LEADERSHiP/SrPTrMBtR 2 0 0 6

Many refer to their advisor as a parentfigure: "He really wants me to go to college,and I don't want to disappoint him."

their teachers. Even within indj\'idualclasses, however, students who struggleacademically typically have the worstrelationships with their teacher.Teachers need to make special efforts toshow a personal interest in and interactpositively with the students whom theyfind most difFicult to teach—by goingout of their way to compliment positivebehaviors, showing an interest in thestudents' lives outside school, listeningto the students" perspectives on theprohlems they are having, and collabo-rating with them on developing strate-gies to address these prohlems.

Relationships SupportAchievementThe spotlight on performance createdhy NCLB and other accountahilitypolicies must not distract us fromattending to factors that suhstantiailyaffect how well students perform. Themost difhcult-to-reach students willolten go all out for a teacher whodemonstrates caring for them as indi-viduals and commitment to theirsuccess. School policies that supportpositive relationships hetween teachersand students can contrthute signifi-cantly, not only to students' social-emotional health and weli-heing, hutalso to their academic performance,Thats why paying attention tostudents' nonacademic needs is a keyingredient in schools' efforts to meettoday's high academic expectations. [3

ReferencesCu5hnian, K. (2002), Fires in the bathioom:

Advice Jrom kids on the front lincf^ oj highschool. Available: www,whatkidscando,org/nresinthebaihroom.pdf

Davidson, A. (1999), Negotiating social

differences: Youths' assessments ofeducators' strategies. Urban Education,34, 338-369,

Davidson, A.. & Phelan, P, (1999),Students' multiple worlds. In Advances inmotivation and aehicvcmait: Rok of context.Vol. 2 Cpp, 233-283), Stamford, CT: JAIPress.

Ferguson, R, (2002), Who doesn't meet theeye. Naper\il!e, IL: Nonh CentralRegional Educational Laboratory,

National Research Council Committee onIncreasing High School Students' Engage-ment and Motivation to Leam, (2004).En^a ing schools: Ft>stt'iinghig/i school moti-valiun to leam. Washington, DC: NationalAcademies Press.

Innovate. Connect. Educate.Nova Southeastern University offers degreeprograms for higher education leaders, likeyou, who use innovative methods tc connectstudents to a better education.

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Ostemian, K, (2000), Students' nt-ed forbelonging in the schooi community.Review of Educationai Research, 70(3),323-367,

Pianta, R. (1999), Enhancing relationshipshetween children and teachers. Wash-ington, DC: American PsychologicalAssociation,

Pianta, R,, Stuhlman, M,, & Hamre, B.(2002), How schools can do better;Fostering stronger connections betweenteachers and students. Nnv Directions forYouth Development, 93, 91-107.

Ryan, R., & Decl, E. (2000). Self-determina-tion theory and the facilitation of intrinsicmotivation, social development, and wellbeing, American Psychologist. 55, 68-78,

Wentzel, K. (2002), Are effective teacherslike good parents? Child Development, 73,287-301,

Deborah St ipek is Dean, Sohool ofEducat ion, Stanford Univers i ty , Stan-ford , California; 650-725-9090;St ipek@stanford .edu,

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