A Case Study of Teacher-Student Relationship Development

This study investigates how teacher-student relationships develop. If a teacher is able to foster high-quality relationships with all students, will students work harder in the classroom? An understanding of how teacher student relationships develop is critical to answering that question. In this investigation, the authors follow a holistic case study tradition to explore teacher-student relationship development. Five themes emerged that collectively describe the development of teacher-student dyadic relationships. The authors explore how descriptions of dyadic relationship development offered by teachers and students align with Leader-member Exchange theory and discuss implications for practice and future research.