In urban secondary schools where underpreparation and dropping out are real world concerns, students understand that their relationships with teachers affect their learning. Using descriptive coding and thematic analysis of focus group data, we explore adolescents’ perceptions of the bridges that foster and the barriers that inhibit supportive relationships with teachers, and the boundary expectations that function as both. The characteristics of supportive student–teacher relationships identified by youth participants suggest a number of teacher practices capable of meeting adolescents’ developmental needs and, as such, are likely to positively influence adolescents’ developmental and academic trajectories.
ArnettJ. J. (2007). Adolescence and emerging adulthood (3rd ed.). Upper Saddle River, NJ: Pearson.
2.
BaumeisterR. F.LearyM. R. (1995). The need to belong: Desire for interpersonal attachments as a fundamental human motivation. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 497-529. doi:10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.497
3.
BazeleyP. (2010). Qualitative data analysis with NVivo. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
4.
Bernstein-YamashiroB. (2004). Learning relationships: Teacher-student connectiond. learning, and identity in high school. New Directions for Youth Development, (103), 55-70.
5.
BondyE.RossD. D.GallinganeC.HambacherE. (2007). Culturally responsive classroom management and more. Urban Education, 42, 326-348. doi:10.1177/0042085907303406
6.
BoothW. C.ColombG. G.WilliamsJ. M. (2008). The craft of research (3 ed.). Chicago, IL: University of Chicago Press.
7.
BrattesaniK. A.WeinsteinR. S.MarshallH. H. (1984). Student perceptions of differential teacher treatment as moderators of teacher expectation effects. Journal of Educational Psychology, 76, 236-247. doi:10.1037/a0019053
8.
BrophyJ. E. (1983). Research on the self-fulfilling prophecy and teacher expectations. Journal of Educational Psychology, 75, 631-661. doi:10.1037/a0019053
9.
BurtonK. D.LydonJ. E.D’AlessandroD. U.KoestnerR. (2006). The differential effects of intrinsic and identified motivation on well-being and performance: Prospective, experimental, and implicit approaches to self-determination theory. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 91, 750-762.
10.
CammarotaJ.RomeroA. (2006). A critically compassionate pedagogy for Latino youth. Latino Studies, 4, 305-312. doi:10.1057/palgrave.lst.8600201
11.
CatalanoR. F.HaggertyK. P.OesterleS.FlemingC.HawkinsJ. D. (2004). The importance of bonding to school for healthy development: findings from the Social Development Research Group. Journal of School Health, 74, 252-261. doi:10.1111/j.1746-1561.2004.tb08281.x
12.
ChhuonV.WallaceT. L. (2012). Creating connectedness through being known: Fulfilling the need to belong in U.S. high schools. Youth & Society. Advance online publication. doi:10.1177/0044118X11436188
13.
ConnellJ. P.Halpem-FisherB. L.CliffordE.CrichlowW.UsingerP. (1995). Hanging in there: Behavioral, psychological, and contextual factors fffecting whether African American adolescents stay in high school. Journal of Adolescent Research, 10(1), 41-63. doi:10.1177/0743554895101004
14.
ConnellJ. P.WellbornJ. G. (1991). Competence, autonomy, and relatedness: A motvational analysis of self-system processes. In GunnarM. R.SroufeL. A. (Eds.), Self processes and development: The Minnesota symposium on child development (Vol. 23, pp. 43-77). Minneapolis, MN: Lawrence Erlbaum.
15.
CrosnoeR. (2011). Fitting in, standing out: Navigating the social challenges of high school to get an education. Cambridge, UK: Cambridge University Press.
16.
DavisH. A. (2003). Conceptualizing the role and influence of student-teacher relationships on children’s social and cognitive development. Educational Psychologist, 38, 207-234.
17.
DavisH. A. (2006). Exploring the contexts of relationship quality between middle school students and teachers. Elementary School Journal, 106, 193-223. doi:10.1086/501483
18.
DeciE. L.RyanR. M. (1985). Intrinsic motivation and self-determination in human behavior. New York, NY: Plenum.
19.
DeciE. L.VallerandR. J.PelletierL. G.RyanR. M. (1991). Motivation and education: The self-determination perspective. Educational Psychologist, 26, 325-346.
DonnellK. (2007). Getting to we: Developing a transformative urban teaching practice. Urban Education, 42, 223-249. doi:10.1177/0042085907300541
22.
DowneyD. B.PribeshS. (2004). When race matters: Teachers’ evaluations of students’ classroom behavior. Sociology of Education, 77, 267-282. doi:10.1177/003804070407700401
23.
EricksonF. (2007). Some thoughts on “proximal” formative assessment of student learning. In MossP. A. (Ed.), Yearbook of the National Society for the Study of Education (Vol. 106, pp. 186-216). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
24.
FairclothB. S. (2009). Making the most of adolescence: harnessing the search for identity to understand classroom belonging. Journal of Adolescent Research, 24, 321-348. doi:10.1177/0743558409334248
25.
Farmer-HintonR. L. (2008). Social capital and college planning: Students of color using school networks for support and guidance. Education and Urban Society, 41, 127-157.
26.
FinnJ. D. (1989). Withdrawing from school. Review of Educational Research, 59, 117-142. doi:10.3102/00346543059002117
27.
FinnJ. D.OwingsJ. (2006). The adult lives of at-risk students: The roles of attainment and engagement in high schoolStatistical analysis report. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education.
28.
GottmanJ. M.DeClaireJ. (2001). The relationship cure: A 5 step guide to strengthening your marriage, family and frienships. New York, NY: Random House.
29.
GuestG.McLellanE. (2003). Distinguishing the trees from the forest: Applying cluster analysis to thematic qualitative data. Field Methods, 15, 186-201.
30.
HamreB. K.PiantaR. C. (2010). Classroom Environment and Developmental Processes: Conceptualization and Measurement. In MeeceJ. L.EcclesJ. S. (Eds.), Handbook of Research on Schools, Schooling, and Human Development (pp. 25-41). New York, NY: Taylor & Francis.
31.
Hernandez Jozefowicz-SimbeniD. M. (2008). An ecological and developmental perspective on dropout risk factors in early adolescence: role of school social workers in dropout prevention efforts. Children & Schools, 30(1), 49-62. doi:10.1093/cs/30.1.49
32.
JuvonenJ. (2006). Sense of belonging, social bonds, and school functioning. In AlexanderP. A.WinneP. H. (Eds.), Handbook of educational psychology (2nd ed., pp. 655-674). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum.
33.
KennedyB. L. (2011). The importance of student and teacher interactions for disaffected middle school students: A grounded theory study of community day schools. Urban Education, 46(1), 4-33. doi:10.1177/0042085910377305
34.
KuklinskiM. R.WeinsteinR. S. (2000). Classroom and grade level differences in the stability of teacher expectations and perceived differential teacher treatment. Learning Environments Research, 3, 1-34. doi:10.1177/0042085910377305
35.
Ladson-BillingsG. (2006). From the achievement gap to the education debt: Understanding achievement in U.S. schools. Educational Researcher, 35(7), 3-12.
36.
Massachusetts Department of Elementary and Secondary Education. (2010). Race to the top phase 2 application for initial funding: Massachusetts. Retrieved from http://www.doe.mass.edu/arra/rttt/narrative2.pdf
37.
McKownC.WeinsteinR. S. (2003). The development and consequences of stereotype consciousness in middle childhood. Child Development, 74, 498-515. doi:10.1111/1467-8624.7402012
38.
McKownC.WeinsteinR. S. (2008). Teacher expectations, classroom context, and the achievement gap. Journal of School Psychology, 46, 235-261.
39.
McNeelyC. A. (2005). Connection to school. In MooreK. A.LippmanL. H. (Eds.), What do children need to flourish?: conceptualizing and measuring indicators of positive development (pp. 289-303). New York, NY: Springer.
40.
MilesM. B.HubermanA. M. (1994). Qualitative data analysis: An expanded sourcebook (2nd ed.). Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
41.
MilnerH. R. (2011). Culturally relevant pedagogy in a diverse urban classroom. Urban Review, 43, 66-89. doi:10.1007/s11256-009-0143-0
42.
MilnerH. R.TenoreF. B. (2010). Classroom management in diverse classrooms. Urban Education, 45, 560-603.
43.
MolchoM.GabhainnS.KelleherC. (2007). Assessing the use of the Family Affluence Scale (FAS) among Irish schoolchildren. Irish Medical Journal, 100(8), 37-39.
44.
NakkulaM. J.ToshalisE. (2006). Understanding youth: Adolescent development for educatorsCambridge, MA: Harvard Education Press.
45.
NameyE.GuestG.ThairuL.JohnsonL. (2008). Data reduction techniques for large qualitative data sets. In GuestG.MacQueenK. M. (Eds.), Handbook for team-based qualitative research (pp. 137-162). Lanham, MD: Rowman & Littlefield.
46.
NiemiecC. P.RyanR. M. (2009). Autonomy, competence, and relatedness in the classroom: Applying self-determination theory to educational practice. Theory and Research in Education, 7(2), 133-144. doi:10.1177/1477878509104318
47.
OrfieldG.LosenD. J.WaldJ.SwansonC. (2004). Losing our future: How minority youth are being left behind by the graduation rate crisis. Cambridge, MA: Harvard Civil Rights Project.
48.
OzerE. J.WolfJ. P.KongC. (2008). Sources of perceived school connection among ethnically-diverse urban adolescents. Journal of Adolescent Research, 23, 438-470. doi:10.1177/0743558408316725
49.
ReeveJ. (2012). A self-determination theory perspective on student engagement. In ChristensonS. L.ReschlyA. L.WylieC. (Eds.), The handbook of research on student engagement (pp. 149-172). New York, NY: Springer Science.
50.
RivkinS. G.HanushekE. A.KainJ. F. (2005). Teachers, schools, and academic achievement. Econometrica, 73(2), 417-458.
51.
RomeroA.ArceS.CammarotaJ. (2009). A barrio pedagogy: Identity, intellectualism, activism, and academic achievement through the evolution of critically compassionate intellectualism. Race Ethnicity and Education, 12, 217-233. doi:10.1080/13613320902995483
52.
RyanR. M.DeciE. L. (2000). Self-determination theory and the facilitation of intrinsic motivation, social development, and well-being. American Psychologist, 55(1), 68-78.
53.
SaldañaJ. (2009). The coding manual for qualitative researchers. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
54.
SchmakelP. O. C. (2008). Early adolescents’ perspectives on motivation and achievement in academics. Urban Education, 43, 723-749. doi:10.1177/0042085907311831
55.
SchuttR. K. (2006). Investigating the social world: The process and practice of research. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
56.
SkinnerE. A.BelmontM. J. (1993). Motivation in the classroom: Reciprocal effects of teacher behavior and student engagement across the school year. Journal of Educational Psychology, 85, 571-581.
57.
SpencerM. B. (1999). Social and cultural influences on school adjustment: The application of an identity-focused cultural ecological perspective. Educational Psychologist, 34(1), 43-57.
58.
SpencerM. B. (2006). Phenomenology and ecological systems theory: Development of diverse groups. In DamonW.LernerR. M. (Eds.), Handbook of child psychology (Vol. 1, pp. 829-893). Hoboken, NJ: John Wiley.
59.
Stanton-SalazarR. D. (1997). A social capital framework for understanding the socialization of racial minority children and youths. Harvard Educational Review, 67(1), 1-40.
60.
SteeleC. M. (1997). A threat in the air: How stereotypes shape intellectual identity and performance. American Psychologist, 52, 613-629.
61.
StewartD. W.ShamdasaniP. N.RookD. W. (2007). Focus groups: Theory and practice. Thousand Oaks, CA: Sage.
ToshalisE. (2011). The rhetoric of care: preservice teacher discourses that depoliticize, deflect, and deceive. Urban Review. doi:10.1007/s11256-011-0177-y
64.
ValenzuelaA. (1999). Subtractive schooling: U.S.-Mexican youth and the politics of caring. Albany, NY: State University of New York Press.
65.
VieraA. J.GarrettJ. M. (2005). Understanding interobserver agreement: The Kappa statistic. Family Medicine, 37, 360-363.
66.
WallaceT. L.YeF.McHughR. M.ChhuonV. (2012). The development of an adolescent perceptions of being known measure. The High School Journal, 95(4), 19-36. doi: 10.1353/hsj.2012.0010.
67.
WardleJ.RobbK.JohnsonF. (2002). Assessing socioeconomic status in adolescents: the validity of a home affluence scale. Journal of Epidemiology and Community Health, 56, 595-599. doi:10.1136/jech.56.8.595
68.
WeinsteinR. S. (1983). Student perceptions of schooling. Elementary School Journal, 83, 286-312. doi:10.1086/461319
69.
WeinsteinR. S.MadisonS. M.KuklinskiM. R. (1995). Raising expectations in schooling: Obstacles and opportunities for change. American Educational Research Journal, 32, 121-159. doi:10.3102/00028312032001121
70.
WhittedK. S.DupperD. R. (2008). Do teachers bully students? : Findings from a survey of students in an alternative education setting. Education and Urban Society, 400, 329-341. doi:10.1177/0013124507304487
71.
WimberlyG. L. (2002). School relationships foster success for African American students (pp. 21). Iowa City, IA: ACT.
72.
WindschitlM.ThompsonJ.BraatenM.StroupeD.ChewC.WrightB. (2010, April). The beginner’s repertroire: A core set of instructional practices for teacher preparation. Paper presented at the American Educational Research Association, Denver, CO.
Supplementary Material
Please find the following supplemental material available below.
For Open Access articles published under a Creative Commons License, all supplemental material carries the same license as the article it is associated with.
For non-Open Access articles published, all supplemental material carries a non-exclusive license, and permission requests for re-use of supplemental material or any part of supplemental material shall be sent directly to the copyright owner as specified in the copyright notice associated with the article.
