Teacher-Student Relationship and School Belonging: Interindividual and Intraindividual Variations According to Adolescents' Immigrant Background

• In Event: The critical role of teacher-student relationships during adolescence

Abstract

Context. Belonging is a fundamental human need (Ryan & Deci, 2017). Defined as individuals’ feeling of acceptance, respect, and inclusion (Goodenow, 1993), this need increases across adolescence (Miller & Desberg, 2009) and has strong implications for school motivation, performance, and well-being (Pittman & Richmond, 2007). School belonging also leads to better relationships with teachers (Koçak et al., 2021), which in turn, may strengthen adolescent sense of belonging in school (Crouch et al., 2014). Close and non-conflictual relationships with teachers and school belonging also serve as central protective factors for the inclusion of students from vulnerable populations, such as those with immigration backgrounds and attending low SES schools (Motti-Stefanidi et al., 2021). Despite the bidirectional associations between these factors, existing longitudinal literature is limited given that very few take into consideration how teacher-student relationships and school belonging vary over several years for adolescents with and without an immigrant background and attending low-SES schools. As such, the present study aims to (1) disentangle interindividual (stable) and intraindividual (time-specific) variations in these associations and (2) test if they vary according to student generational status (1st generation, born abroad; 2nd generation, born in host country with parents born abroad; 3rd generation plus, parents and child born in host country).

Method. A cohort of 1070 7th grade students (51% female; first-(22%), second- (29%); third-generation plus (49%)) from 10 low-SES secondary schools located in Montréal (Canada) were followed every two years, across three time points (Y1,Y3,Y5). In Spring, students reported conflict (7 items, alpha=.87) and closeness (6 items, alpha=.81) in their relationships with teachers, as well as their sense of school belonging (5 items, alpha=.89) using validated scales (Janosz & Bouthillier, 2004; Pianta, 1992).

Analysis. Random-Intercept Cross-Lag Panel Models (RI-CLPM; Hamacker et al. 2015) were conducted using Mplus (Muthén & Muthén, 2022). RI-CLPM allow to disaggregate interindividual and intraindividual components. Two full transactional models were tested to link school belonging to teacher-student (1) conflict and (2) closeness. Multiple-group structural invariance was used to identify variations between 1st, 2nd and 3rd generation students.

Results. As depicted in Figures 1 & 2, at the interindividual level (stable), teacher-student conflict is strongly associated with lower school belonging, but significantly more strongly for first-generation students. Intraindividual (time-specific) variations in teacher-student conflict is also associated with lower school belonging, but for third-generation students only. In contrast, at the interindividual level, teacher-student closeness is not associated with school belonging and no difference according to generational status is observed. However, positive intraindividual correlations are observed between closeness and belonging at all time points, for all students.

Discussion. This study suggests that teacher-student conflict and school belonging are related and mostly rely on students’ stable experience in school, spanning several years, for first- and second-generation students, while being also related to student experience within a specific year for third-generation. The association between teacher-student closeness and school belonging mostly relies upon student experience during a specific school year; early secondary grades being particularly important for later outcomes. The implications of findings will be discussed.

Authors

• Isabelle Archambault, University of Montreal
  Presenting Author

• Sophie Pascal, Université de Montréal

• Elizabeth Olivier

• Michel Janosz, Université de Montréal

• Kristel Tardif-Grenier, Université du Québec en Outaouais (UQO)

• Véronique Dupéré, Université de Montréal