Do Intentional Relationship-Building Practices Improve the Quality of Student-Teacher Relationships and Decrease Undesired Student Behaviors?

Research clearly articulates the importance of strong, positive student-teacher relationships; however, there is a lack of research on intentional practices aimed at improving the quality of these relationships and decreasing undesired student behaviors, particularly at the high school level. The purpose of this action research project was to examine the effects an intentional-relationship building process--Establish-Maintain-Restore (EMR)--had on cultivating positive student-teacher relationships in grades 7-9, as measured by teachers' perceptions. Furthermore, this study attempted to identify whether these intentional strategies reduce the likelihood of discipline referrals. Results indicated that EMR implementation was associated with improvements in teacher reported student-teacher relational closeness. Findings also suggested that increased relational conflict may lead to increase teacher-submitted discipline referrals; however, significant data could not confirm that EMR reduced teacher-reporter student-teacher conflict. The implications of this student for intentional teacher-initiated relationship-building strategies and directions for future research are discussed.