Teacher–student relationship and students’ social competence in relation to the quality of educational dialogue

ABSTRACT

Teacher–student relationship and students’ social competence were investigated in relation to the quality of educational dialogue. The data consisted of 151 video-recorded Grade 2 lessons. The teachers (N = 50) also rated their students’ (N = 664) social competence and the teacher–student relationship. In terms of teacher–student relationships, closeness associated positively while conflict associated negatively with high quality dialogue. Regarding students’ social competence, cooperation skills and empathy linked positively while disruptiveness linked negatively with high quality dialogue. The findings provide new knowledge on how different student-related factors may support or prevent the building of educational dialogue.

KEYWORDS:

• Quality of educational dialogue
• teacher–student relationship
• social competence
• primary school

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Academy of Finland [317610], the Finnish Cultural Foundation, and Emil Aaltonen Foundation.

Notes on contributors

Heli Muhonen

Heli Muhonen, Ph.D., Docent, is a Postdoctoral Researcher at the Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Her research interests concern dialogic classroom interactions and teacher’s professional vision in relation to different classroom factors.

Eija Pakarinen

Eija Pakarinen, Ph.D., Docent, is an Associate Professor at the Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyväskylä, Finland, and Associate Professor II at the University of Stavanger, Norway. Her research foci include teacher–child interactions, teacher–student relationships, teacher well-being, and home–school collaboration in relation to children’s motivational, academic, and socio-emotional outcomes.

Helena Rasku-Puttonen

Helena Rasku-Puttonen, Ph.D., is a Professor of Educational Psychology (emerita) at the Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyväskylä, Finland. Her research interests concern learning environments, teacher-student interactions, educational dialogue, and teacher education.

Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen

Marja-Kristiina Lerkkanen, Ph.D., Docent, is a Professor of Education at the Department of Teacher Education, University of Jyväskylä, Finland, and Professor II at the University of Stavanger, Norway. She has extensive expertise in directing several longitudinal studies concerning learning, teaching, parental roles, teacher education, and teachers’ well-being.