Content and structure of real‐time teacher‐student interactions

Helena J. M. Pennings, Irene Van der Meij, Mieke Brekelmans, Jan van Tartwijk, Theo Wubbels

Research output: Contribution to conferencePaperOther research output

Abstract

Positive teacher‐student relationships are important for student academic achievement (Cornelius‐White, 2007) and teacher well‐being (Spilt, Koomen, & Thijs, 2011). In this study we explored how teacher‐student relationships (macro‐level) develop by observing real‐time teacher‐student interactions (micro‐level). We observed the degree of Agency and Communion in both teachers’ and their students real‐time interpersonal behavior during one lesson of eight teachers with teacher‐student relationships characterized differently in terms of Agency and Communion with Sadler’s computer joystick device. The macro‐level teacher‐student relationship was measured with the Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction. With State Space Grid (SSG) analysis the content (i.e., attractors) and structure (i.e., visit entropy) of the observed interactions was analyzed, by recoding the joystick coordinates into octant scores of the IPC‐Teacher and IPC‐Student. For five teachers we found alignment between the content of real‐time interactions and the teacher‐student relationship. For three teachers attractors were located in octants characterized as more friendly than their teacher‐student relationship. Also for, these three teachers we concluded that the teacher‐student interactions were least predictable (structure). In previous research it was found that the teacher‐student relationship of teachers whose behavior is less predictable is often less desirable (i.e., low levels of Agency and Communion). This was also the case in the current study. By placing the attractors (content) for both the teacher and the students in the IPC we were able to study general complementarity in their interactions. This showed complementary interactions for five teachers, a‐complementary interactions for two teachers, and noncomplementary interactions for one teacher.
Original languageEnglish
Publication statusUnpublished - 2014
EventAnnual Conference of the Society for Interpersonal Theory and Research (SITAR) - New Haven, United States
Duration: 6 Jun 20147 Jun 2014

Conference

ConferenceAnnual Conference of the Society for Interpersonal Theory and Research (SITAR)
Country/TerritoryUnited States
CityNew Haven
Period6/06/147/06/14

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