Poster #42 - Association Between Academic Achievement and Teacher-Student Relationships: The Moderation Effects of Children's Ethnicity and Teacher Experience

• In Event: Poster Session 09

Abstract

There is extensive evidence that teacher-student relationships (TSR) have a significant impact on students' academic achievement; however, investigators have proposed that the effects of TSR on academic achievement may be moderated by students' race and ethnicity (Paschall et al., 2018) and teachers' experience (Gallagher et al., 2013). Nevertheless, there is no clear consensus on the moderation effect of these factors on the association between TSR and academic achievement. Also, it has been rare for researchers to use multi-level models to investigate the role of these two moderators over time.
This study sought to answer the question: Does the association between TSR (i.e., warmth and conflict) and students' achievement (i.e., reading and math) vary depending on students' ethnicity and teachers' experience from middle to late childhood? Specifically, this study investigated two different interaction effects: 1) the interaction between TSR and student ethnicity and 2) the interaction between TSR and teacher experience.
The sample consisted of 500 children (46.6% girls, 39.6% Hispanic, 36.6% Caucasian, and 23.8% African American) recruited in Grade 1 and followed through Grade 5. 680 teachers interacted with students across these years which 25.35% were novice (less than three years of experience), 28.78% were moderately experienced (4-9 years), and 45.88% were experts (ten years and more). Teacher reports of teacher-student relationships (TNRI: Hughes et al., 2008) and standardized academic performance (WJ-III: Woodcock, 1977) were collected annually (5 waves).
Three-level cross-classified random effects models (CCREM) were performed (ICC for student=0.25, teachers=0.5, and schools=0.06). Students' ethnicity, TSR, and teacher experience were used as predictors, and students', teachers', and schools' random effects were added. Eight models were specified to examine two research questions across achievement-TSR associations: reading-warmth, reading-conflict, math-warmth, and math-conflict. No significant interaction effects were observed for TSR and student ethnicity (Q1). Reading-warmth and math-conflict models showed significant interactions between TSR and teacher experience (Q2; table 1). Reading-warmth model showed that the association between warmth and reading is insignificant for moderately experienced teachers, and when warmth is at the sample mean, students with expert teachers have lower reading grades. However, expert teachers increase the effect of warmth on reading achievement in a positive way. Math-conflict model showed that students with novice teachers have lower math grades. Contrary to previous studies, the interaction between conflict and novice teachers is positive, meaning being a novice teacher reduces the negative impact of teacher-student conflict on math achievement.
Findings of the present study showed that regardless of TSR and teacher experience, students of color have lower academic achievement. In addition, teachers with different experience backgrounds have unique relationships with students, which affects their academic achievement in different pathways. This study highlights the need for more attention toward the expert teachers who may suffer from burnout and novice teachers who may benefit from additional training focusing on math achievement. Findings also have implications for school administrators to assign teachers with different experience backgrounds to math and reading classrooms and have further interventions to bridge the academic gaps of students from diverse racial and ethnic backgrounds.

Authors

• Minoo Mohammadi, Texas A&M University - College Station
  Presenting Author

• Ranyue Xiao, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Danni Li, Texas A&M University - College Station

• Wen Luo, Texas A&M University

• Idean Ettekal, Texas A&M University - College Station