The links between students’ relationships with teachers, likeability among peers, and bullying victimization: the intervening role of teacher responsiveness

Highly responsive teachers tend to foster behaviors that are low in conflict and high in prosociality, among their students, leading to a positive classroom climate and to a decrease in bullying victimization. However, little is known about the interaction between teacher responsiveness and both student–teacher, and student–student relationship characteristics, in influencing students’ bullying victimization at school. Here, we examined student–teacher relationship quality and students’ likeability among peers as predictors of in-school victimization. Additionally, we investigated the moderating role of teacher responsiveness over this link. Study sample consisted of 386 early-adolescent students (55.2% female, mean age [SD] = 12.17 [0.73]) and 19 main teachers (females, n = 14). Findings indicated that students’ exposure to victimization was positively associated with student–teacher conflict and negatively associated with likeability among classroom peers. Teacher responsiveness did not show a significant direct association with bullying victimization. However, when teachers showed high responsiveness, the strength of the association between student–teacher conflict and students’ likelihood of bullying victimization was slightly increased. The present study highlights the importance of considering the role of teacher responsiveness when modeling the link between student and teacher relationship quality and in school bullying victimization.

Weaving webs of connection: Empathy, perspective taking, and students’ motivation

L2 motivation is a relational phenomenon, shaped by teacher responsiveness (Lamb, 2017; Ushioda, 2009). Little, however, is known about the practices in which responsiveness is manifested. Drawing on research from the culturally responsive teaching paradigm (Petrone, 2013), and highlighting the role of empathy and perspective taking (Warren, 2018), the aim of this ethnographic case study of two lessons with a focus on poetry is to develop a relational understanding of the evolution of motivation. Analyses reveal how perspective taking has instructional and interactional dimensions, and how connections between lesson content and funds of knowledge with origins in students’ interactions with popular culture bring additional layers of meaning to learning. It is suggested that while connections that arise through perspective taking practices shape students’ in-the-moment motivational responses, they also accumulate in ways that lead to enduring motivational dispositions.

Class-Related Emotions in Secondary Physical Education: A Control-Value Theory Approach

Purpose:Grounded in control-value theory, a model of students’ achievement emotions in physical education (PE) was investigated.Methods:A path analysis tested hypotheses that students’ (N = 529) perceptions of teacher responsiveness, assertiveness, and clarity predict control and value beliefs which, in turn, predict enjoyment and boredom.Results:Teacher clarity predicted student control (β = .31; R2= .09) and value (β = .21; R2= .07) beliefs. Value and control beliefs positively predicted enjoyment (β = .71; β = .11; R2 = .58) and negatively predicted boredom (β = -.61; β = -.13; R2 = .47).Discussion:Findings provide meaningful information about the source of students’ emotional experiences in PE. The importance of instructional clarity within the model highlights the need for teachers to use a variety of clarifying strategies during instruction. The strong links between value beliefs and emotions suggest teachers need to explicitly discuss the intrinsic and extrinsic worth of PE content.

Examining Learner Engagement Strategies

The Learning and Engagement Questionnaire (LEQ) measures instructional and environmental variables associated with learner engagement. The present study sought to determine the suitability of the LEQ to measure learner engagement with a sample of Canadian teachers and to further investigate the factorial structure in comparison with the Australian context. Canadian teachers ( N = 739) from Kindergarten to Grade 12 responded to the LEQ in ways that are explained by two factors identified as “Instructional Cycle” and “Student-Directed Learning.” The previously reported factor structure of the LEQ identified five factors in the Australian study: “Goal Directed Learning,” “Task Selection,” “Intensive Teaching,” “Teacher Responsiveness,” and “Planning and Learning Environment.” There is a discussion of the cross- cultural differences between the Australian and Canadian participant groups and their dominant pedagogical approaches. The LEQ has the potential to raise teachers’ awareness of the strategies they can use to facilitate inclusive practice through differentiated student engagement.