Teacher-Student Relationships in Diverse New Zealand Year 10 Mathematics Classrooms: Teacher Care

<p>Teacher-student relationships are considered influential for academic achievement and motivation, particularly for students of minority and low socio-economic groups. Teacher care is an essential component of effective teacher-student relationships. This study examined factors that contribute to developing and maintaining caring teacher-student relationships in low socio-economic multicultural classrooms (Maori, Pasifika, New Zealand European). Three areas of teacher care were explored: care for students as individuals, their mathematical progress, and for students as culturally located individuals. The sample comprised three urban schools, one class and one teacher in each school for each of two years (six Year 10 mathematics teachers and their classes in total). Three data collection periods were used: the initial four weeks of the school year, and two weeks late in each of school terms 2 and 3. Each data collection period included classroom observations, teacher and student interviews, and teacher and student questionnaires. Within a holistic context of classroom well being, characteristics of caring teacherstudent relationships were found to fit within four dispositional aspects (liking, respecting, and being tolerant of each other, and being able to reflect one's personal identity), and four themes (knowing each other as people, knowing each other as learners, knowing each other's cultures, and enhancing feelings of cultural identity). Specific classroom practices found to be supportive of respectful caring teacher-student relationships included using humour, one-to-one teacher-student interactions, making opportunities for sharing personal identities, and expecting mathematical progress. Mixed results were obtained regarding how deeply students value their heritage cultures, whether or not they believe these are well reflected in their schools and classrooms, and the extent to which they would like them to be reflected in these places. There is evidence that for many Maori, Pasifika, and low socio-economic students, mathematics teachers can enhance students' motivation and mathematical achievement by using explicitly caring practices. Teachers must acknowledge and attend to caring teaching approaches to maximise their students' progress in, and enjoyment of, mathematics.</p>

Teacher-Student Relationships in Diverse New Zealand Year 10 Mathematics Classrooms: Teacher Care

<p>Teacher-student relationships are considered influential for academic achievement and motivation, particularly for students of minority and low socio-economic groups. Teacher care is an essential component of effective teacher-student relationships. This study examined factors that contribute to developing and maintaining caring teacher-student relationships in low socio-economic multicultural classrooms (Maori, Pasifika, New Zealand European). Three areas of teacher care were explored: care for students as individuals, their mathematical progress, and for students as culturally located individuals. The sample comprised three urban schools, one class and one teacher in each school for each of two years (six Year 10 mathematics teachers and their classes in total). Three data collection periods were used: the initial four weeks of the school year, and two weeks late in each of school terms 2 and 3. Each data collection period included classroom observations, teacher and student interviews, and teacher and student questionnaires. Within a holistic context of classroom well being, characteristics of caring teacherstudent relationships were found to fit within four dispositional aspects (liking, respecting, and being tolerant of each other, and being able to reflect one's personal identity), and four themes (knowing each other as people, knowing each other as learners, knowing each other's cultures, and enhancing feelings of cultural identity). Specific classroom practices found to be supportive of respectful caring teacher-student relationships included using humour, one-to-one teacher-student interactions, making opportunities for sharing personal identities, and expecting mathematical progress. Mixed results were obtained regarding how deeply students value their heritage cultures, whether or not they believe these are well reflected in their schools and classrooms, and the extent to which they would like them to be reflected in these places. There is evidence that for many Maori, Pasifika, and low socio-economic students, mathematics teachers can enhance students' motivation and mathematical achievement by using explicitly caring practices. Teachers must acknowledge and attend to caring teaching approaches to maximise their students' progress in, and enjoyment of, mathematics.</p>

Beyond Ethnic Diversity: The Role of Teacher Care for Interethnic Relations

Drawing on the role of teachers for peer ecologies, we investigated whether students favored ethnically homogenous over ethnically diverse relationships, depending on classroom diversity and perceived teacher care. We specifically studied students' intra- and interethnic relationships in classrooms with different ethnic compositions, accounting for homogeneous subgroups forming on the basis of ethnicity and gender diversity (i.e., ethnic-demographic faultlines). Based on multilevel social network analyses of dyadic networks between 1299 early adolescents in 70 German fourth grade classrooms, the results indicated strong ethnic homophily, particularly driven by German students who favored ethnically homogenous dyads over mixed dyads. As anticipated, the results showed that there was more in-group bias if perceived teacher care was low rather than high. Moreover, stronger faultlines were associated with stronger in-group bias; however, this relation was moderated by teacher care: If students perceived high teacher care, they showed a higher preference for mixed-ethnic dyads, even in classrooms with strong faultlines. These findings highlight the central role of teachers as agents of positive diversity management and the need to consider contextual classroom factors other than ethnic diversity when investigating intergroup relations in schools.

Teacher Care and Students’ Sense of Connectedness in the Urban Mathematics Classroom

This multimethod study draws on theories of teacher care, dispositions, and culturally relevant pedagogy to examine how 12 urban mathematics teachers’ perceptions of their own care practices align with their Black and Latinx students’ (n = 321) sense of connectedness in the mathematics classroom. A qualitative analysis of in-depth interviews with the teachers established three typologies of care: empathetic, transactional, and blended. A questionnaire measure of mathematics classroom connectedness revealed that students in classrooms led by teachers who enacted an empathetic caring pedagogy were more likely to agree that their teachers provided emotional support, their classroom felt like a family, and their contributions were valued in class. Furthermore, students’ sense of classroom connectedness mediated the link between teacher care and the students’ perceived value and relevance of mathematics.

Wzory osobowe młodzieży nieprzystosowanej społecznie – przykład wychowanków młodzieżowych ośrodków wychowawczych

This report aims to examine which specific persons are considered to be aspirational role models by minors referred to youth educational centers and whether the role models vary among underage girls and underage boys. The research was quantitative in nature and participants were selected through purposeful random sampling. A total of 481 residents of youth educational centers were included in the study. The most important role models mentioned by the maladjusted youth in the study were placed in the following order: mother, grandmother, sister, brother, grandfather, father, friend, teacher, care/support worker, and priest. Data analysis performed with the use of the Mann-Whitney U test demonstrated that the preferred role models differ significantly (p <0.05) between boys and girls. Underage boys' role models more frequently included people from their inner family circle (mother, father, sister, brother, grandfather), their peer group (acquaintance, friend), as well as the school environment (priest). The comparison revealed no significant differences between boys and girls regarding the following role models: grandmother, teacher, and support/care worker. This means that these function as role models for both underage boys and girls to a similar extent.