Targeting Teachers' Relational Self-Efficacy Beliefs to Improve Teacher-Student Relationships

• In Event: Self-Concept and Self-Efficacy

Abstract

Decades of research on self-efficacy shows that people’s beliefs about their ability to succeed in a particular domain impact their performance in that domain (Bandura, 1997). This research introduces the concept of teachers’ relational self-efficacy, defined as teachers’ beliefs about their capability to successfully form, maintain, and (when necessary) repair relationships with students. Through two studies, I address the policy- and practitioner-relevant question of how we can improve teacher-student relationships (TSRs) in the classroom. Study 1 provides longitudinal evidence that we can measure teachers’ relational self-efficacy and that it predicts subsequent teacher and student perceptions of the TSR. Building on these findings, Study 2 evaluates an intervention that increases teachers’ relational self-efficacy and measures the downstream impact on TSRs.

Author

• Carly D Robinson, Brown University