STUDY: THE VALUE OF STUDENT AND STAFF RELATIONSHIPS IN SCHOOL

PRESENTED BY YOUTH EMPOWERING SOCIETY Y.E.S

Y.E.S

Y.E.S
A group of 8 students who spent six weeks of our summer
Getting to know one another Studying and exploring our community Deciding what we wanted to learn more about Researching how students and staff are building relationships in school

HOW DID WE GET HERE?

WHY STAFF/STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS?

VS. Sexting Doable vs. Importance Community Division Race relations amongst students and school staff Barriers to building relationships for all students

GENERAL INFORMATION
High quality teacher-student relationships are important for all students (Murray &Malmgren 2005) Students are most likely to have positive relationships with teachers who share similar ethnicities (Saft & Pianta 2001) By high school as many as 40-60% of students become chronically disengaged from school urban, suburban, and rural (Klem & Connell 2004)

CHARACTERISTICS OF POSITIVE STUDENT/TEACHER RELATIONSHIPS

TEACHERS/STAFF: Show their pleasure & enjoyment of students Interact in a positive & respectful manner Offer help Help students reflect on thinking & learning skills Demonstrate knowledge of students backgrounds, interests, strengths & academic levels Seldom show irritability & aggravation towards students. STUDENTS Show enjoyment of school/teacher Same Accept help Actively listen and show interest Be open to adults

Accept redirection

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SOME CHALLENGES
Boys typically have more conflict and less closeness with teachers than girls (Baker, 2006)
Poor teacher-student relationship were correlated in the achievement gap (Hughes and Kwok) Students with more external problems have more conflict with teachers (Murray & Murray 2004)

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Challenges Cont.
Although the student body is becoming more diverse the teachers are remaining the same. By 2020 39% of all school aged children will come from minority groups.

THE MIDDLETOWN SCHOOL SYSTEM AT A GLANCE

STAFF (Administrators, Teachers, Support Staff)
Total # - 447
Gender
Male Approx 100 Female Approx 350

STUDENTS (As of 10/2010)

Total # - 5,193
Gender
Male 2,687 Female 2,506

Race
Asian 7 Latino -9 Black 14 White 422 Native American - 1

Race
American Indian 17 (.33%) Asian 286 (5.51%) Black 1,192 (22.95%) White 2,871 (55.29%) Latino 710 (13.67%) Native Hawaiian 2 (.04%) 2 or more 115 (2.21%)

INTERVIEWS
We interviewed 18 students Caucasian=8= 44.4% Minority=8= 44.4% Both=2= 11.1%

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT STAFF/STUDENT RELATIONSHIPS IN YOUR CURRENT SCHOOL?

44.4% of interviewees felt that relationships between staff & students are negative
I think that more staff need to get to know their students more Lakreshia Perry I feel that some teachers do a good job where some teachers treat students as friends so they dont have to discipline - Rachel Held More negative due to no respect to students and teachers - Leon Chandler

83.3% OF STUDENTS INTERVIEWED FEEL IT IS IMPORTANT TO HAVE A HEALTHY RELATIONSHIP WITH STAFF MEMBERS

Students would be able to talk to staff members so that the staff members would be able to understand why they sometimes act out. Students would feel a connection with the staff member and would most likely respect them. -Stephanie Giardina

STAFF INTERVIEWS
Interviewed 8 Woodrow Wilson Middle School and Middletown High School staff members as well as experts on the topic

DO YOU THINK IT IS YOUR RESPONSIBILITY TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH YOUR STUDENTS? WHY OR WHY NOT?

It takes a village to raise a child. Which means that grown ups should always be willing to help a child in need. - Anonymous

Negative Demeanor

Close Mindedness

Barriers

Gender

Race

DO YOU THINK THAT BECAUSE THERE ARE NOT MANY MINORITY STAFF MEMBERS, MINORITY STUDENTS FIND IT HARD TO BUILD RELATIONSHIPS WITH STAFF MEMBERS?

Yes, if we had more diverse staff wwms would have less problems. Also, if staff members were trained and given assistance in overcoming some barriers, most importantly cultural barriers, there may be less problems
----Ms. Alleyne

Yes, because it is difficult for me to truly understand minority student even thought I try to relate to all students
----Mr. Hand

STUDENT SURVEY DEMOGRAPHICS

STUDENT DEMOGRAPHICS CONT.

STUDENT SURVEY CONT.

54.8% of students feel that there is a staff person at school who believes they will be a success.

42.2% of students feel that there is a staff person at school they can trust.

HOW MANY STUDENTS HAVE A MENTOR IN SCHOOL

A mentor is defined as: an adult at school who they feel comfortable going to when they are upset, need advice, want to share positive news, and/or need someone to confide in.

OF THOSE THAT HAVE MENTORS, HOW MANY DO THEY HAVE?

WHO IS THIS PERSON????

63.3% say that the mentor is the same sex as them.

46.8% of those surveyed said their mentor is the same race as them. HOWEVER..

WHO ANSWERED OUR SURVEY?

WHAT IS THE STAFF SAYING?

WILL ALL OF OUR STUDENTS BE A SUCCESS?

I believe students CAN be a success. Some students choose NOT to be.

STAFF Vs. STUDENTS

STUDENTS 100% of students feel like approachability is the most important quality they look for in an adult mentor.
68% of students feel like its important to build relationships with staff 51.6% of students feel similar race/culture is important to building relationships with teachers.
STAFF 80.6% of staff feel like Personality/Approachability is a challenge to connect to students. 41% of staff feel like its a challenge to build relationships with students.

62.9% of staff say that race/culture is a challenge to connect with students.

STUDENT/STAFF
STUDENTS Similar Interest- 98.5% feel its important Age- 78.3% feel its important Gender- 66.7% feel its important STAFF Similar Interest- 54.8% feel its a challenge Age- 67.7% feel its a challenge Gender- 41.9% feel its a challenge

Although the percentages say approachability is most important, most respondents say that race plays a major role in student-teacher relationships.

What do you think is the ratio of minority staff to minority students in your school?

1 to 50

1 to 250
1 to 110
1 to 150

1 to 35
1 to 3

TEACHER VS. STUDENTS

There is a staff member at school who believes I will be a success. 54% of students felt that this is true I believe that all students will be a success. -23% of staff disagree with this statement.

The majority of students and staff feel that similar interests are important, but the majority of teacher(54.8%) feel like its harder to have similar interests with students.

CONCLUSION
Hypothesis: Student teacher relationships improve schooling for kids. Most minority students do not have healthy relationships with staff members because there are not enough minority staff.

Results
Student view point Students doubt that change can happen I think I dont really mind. However, when you start to think about your own future, it can be unnerving to not see many minorities teaching around you Adult view point

For a school that is almost half minority it is a very disappointing percentage

Important Factors

Approachability/ Personality

Similar Interests

Race/Culture

CALL TO ACTION!

WHAT CAN THE COMMUNITY DO?

More research Advocate minority hiring More programming that will allow every student to have a mentor in the school Parents assure that they children are always feeling connected to their school Parents encourage children to get involved in extra-curricular activities Encourage more minorities to enter the field of education

WHAT CAN BE DONE IN SCHOOL?

Inspire and encourage all students Teach students about cooperation and building an effective relationship with present staff members Students and teachers need be more open-minded and willing to relate to one another Improve PRIDE Make school more student-centered Staff should encourage all students to get involved in after school activities (even if you dont think they want to)