Teacher-Student Associations, Performance, and Motivation Study

This report investigates the significant impact of teacher-student associations on student academic performance and motivation. The study explores the perceptions of relationships, causative factors, and the effects of perceived control within the classroom. It examines how positive teacher-student relationships can foster a conducive learning environment, enhancing student engagement and learning outcomes. The research employs various methods, including surveys and statistical analysis, to assess the correlation between teacher-student relationships and student motivation, engagement, and academic achievement. The study population comprises high school students from two schools in the Maldives. The findings highlight the importance of building and sustaining positive instructor-learner relationships to improve student outcomes and address issues of unmotivation and disengagement.

Running head: Teacher-Student Associations, Academic Performance and Motivation 1
Impacts of Teacher-Student Associations on the Student Academic Performance and
Motivation
by
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Teacher-Student Associations, Academic Performance and Motivation 2
Table of Contents
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION........................................................................................3
1.1 Background of the Study..................................................................................................3
1.2 Purpose of the Study.........................................................................................................3
1.3 Research Questions..........................................................................................................3
1.4 The significance of the Study...........................................................................................4
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW............................................................................5
2.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................5
2.2 Perception of Relationships..............................................................................................5
2.3 Causative Factors..............................................................................................................5
2.4 Perceived Control.............................................................................................................6
2.5 Impacts of Teacher-Student Associations........................................................................6
2.6 Learning Outcomes..........................................................................................................6
2.7 Building Positive Associations.........................................................................................6
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODS........................................................................8
3.1 Introduction......................................................................................................................8
3.2 Population.........................................................................................................................8
3.3 Sampling Design..............................................................................................................8
3.4 Instrumentation.................................................................................................................8
3.5 Data Collection.................................................................................................................9
3.6 Data Analysis....................................................................................................................9
3.7 Schedule of Research Survey.........................................................................................10
References................................................................................................................................11

Teacher-Student Associations, Academic Performance and Motivation 3
CHAPTER ONE: INTRODUCTION
1.1 Background of the Study
The delivery of quality education is a significant foundation in the lives of every student. It is
vital that the students be provided with necessary tools for learning such as motivation and
engagement. Student motivation is not always intrinsic to some students, and therefore the
teacher has the role of guiding such individuals towards successful learning. The instructors
also have the responsibility of fostering a desire for education since they spend a substantial
period of time with the learners while in the programme. Studies have shown that the
association between the teacher and student is an essential forecaster of the educational
performance and attainment of the leaners. The instructors have the most potent weapon of
establishing a learning environment, and that is a positive association with the learners
(Hattie, 2012). The students that view their teachers as more supportive are likely to perform
much better (Rimm-Kaufman & Sandilos, 2011; Gehlbach, Brinkworth, & Harris, 2012).
Furthermore, the study atmosphere is vital to sustaining the learner's interest and
commitment. When the students have a feeling of security and autonomy in the classroom,
they are more likely to be involved because they enthusiastically and with vigor approach
learning Maulana, Opdenakker, Stroet, & Bosker, 2013). Thus, the first initiative in assisting
the learner to become more motivated and involved, and as a result successful academically,
is to develop and sustain positive instructor-learner relationships (Roorda et al., 2011).
1.2 Purpose of the Study
The purpose of this study will be to ascertain whether fostering positive relationships
between teachers and students affects the academic commitment of the learner in the
classroom.
1.3 Research Questions
The research questions that this survey will analyse are shown below:

Teacher-Student Associations, Academic Performance and Motivation 4
1. What is the teacher/student perception of teacher-student relationship?
2. What is the association between teacher-student relationships and motivation?
3. What is the association between teacher-student relationship and engagement?
4. Is there a relationship between student Academic performance and motivation?
1.4 The significance of the Study
Learners that are unmotivated will, at last, become unproductive and immobile. If these
students do not attain the minimum state or local standards of performance, they will be
recalled or rise to frustration levels and end up withdrawing from school (De Castella, Byrne,
& Covington, 2013). Additionally, unmotivated students tend to be associated with issues of
indiscipline both within and without the school compound. Perhaps the most unfortunate part
is that most of these learners, more so males, end up joining special Education schools
(Foster, 2011). The situation is more severe in the case of secondary students because this is
the stage when they gather resources to become employable, to sustain themselves with
regard to basic needs and to live successful lives. But due to severe times, most of them are
forced to join crime and drug abuse, hence the reason for rising of the offenses committed by
the juveniles (FDLE, 2007). Several forces both internal and external affect the lives of the
student, and each effect determines the direction the learner takes. Most of the times the
course of these forces don’t foster the achievement of the school objectives. With the
cognizance of the teacher on the nominal forces exerted on the student, the teacher can use
motivational forces to help the learner to attain the goals of education. The purpose of this
study will be to ascertain the impact of teacher-student relationship on student motivation and
involvement.

Teacher-Student Associations, Academic Performance and Motivation 5
CHAPTER TWO: LITERATURE REVIEW
2.1 Introduction
This section covers the literature review which is ordered in the following way. First, the
view of the teacher and student on relationships is addressed, the factors that factors that lead
to the development of relationships, and the effects of the perceived learner’s control of the
classroom. Then the impact of the teacher-student association on both teams such as learner’s
conduct and educational results are discussed. Lastly, the review outlines how the teachers
can initiate and sustain a positive teacher-student association.
2.2 Perception of Relationships
The learners’ perception is very critical. Studies suggest that a child’s perception of control is
critical in determining the learner’s motivation. Perceived control is the certainty that one can
ascertain an individual’s conduct, affect one’s environment, and produce the expected results.
Rimm-Kaufman & Sandilos (2011) assert that the learner’s perception of the instructor’s
conduct affects the relationship. The student who perceives the teacher as unsupportive are
less interested in learning and are less committed in the classroom (Gehlbach et al., 2012).
Teacher perception is equally convincing as student perception. When teachers undergo
negative associations with the students, they become stressed, and this leads to negative
interactions (Spilt et al., 2011).
2.3 Causative Factors
Individual characteristics of both the learners and instructors are predictors to the nature of
the associations between the two teams. Friendly interactions with the teachers with the
students develop improved relationships, as opposed to the teachers whose response to the
students is dependent on the conduct of the student. Therefore, the teachers have the mandate
of being friendly to all students to establish a conducive learning environment and positive
relationships (Hughes, 2011).

Teacher-Student Associations, Academic Performance and Motivation 6
2.4 Perceived Control
According to Skinner,& Pitzer (2012) perceived control is essential in establishing
relationships. The lack of the feeling of self-control in students or the absence of the teacher’s
care, makes them try to avoid problems, aim at the minimum and do not seek the teachers
help, thus end up being unmotivated and distressed thus leading to low academic
performance. On the other hand, if the students feel that they have control, they become more
involved in educational activities, aim high and thus achieve performance.
2.5 Impacts of Teacher-Student Associations
A functional association between the learners and the teachers can positively affect the
conduct of the student in the classroom. Maulana et al. (2013) note that a learning
environment is vital in the development of the child’s motivation to learn, and positive
associations can play a role in sustaining the learner’s desire and involvement in learning.
According to self-determination theory, the learners should experience an emotional
engagement with their instructors. Additionally, those students with good relationships with
their teachers rarely forgo school (Rimm-Kaufman & Sandilos, 2012).
2.6 Learning Outcomes
Students’ motivation is significantly determined by the learning environment. Thus students
must feel that they belong, and this is a determinant of motivational results and involvement.
Maulana et al. (2013) assert that when a tutor establishes a conducive learning atmosphere
and cares of the students’ necessities, the results of learning will be perfect because learners
efficiently undertake tasks that they are enthusiastic about. Negative teacher-student
association leads to poor student outcomes. A survey by Gehlbach et al. (2012) found out that
endless conflicts between teachers and students led to lower grades.
2.7 Building Positive Associations
Positive teacher-student relationships can be established through promoting control
(Skinner,& Pitzer, 2012), communicating high expectations for students (Pianta, Hamre, &

Teacher-Student Associations, Academic Performance and Motivation 7
Allen, 2012), provide teacher feedback (Skipper & Douglas, 2015), developing familiarity
with the students (Cooper & Miness, 2014), and encourage effective communication with the
students including the use of verbal and non-verbal cues (MacSuga-Gage, Simonsen, &
Briere, 2012).

Teacher-Student Associations, Academic Performance and Motivation 8
CHAPTER THREE: RESEARCH METHODS
3.1 Introduction
The objective of this study will be to ascertain whether the development of positive
relationships between the instructors and learners affect the academic Performance and
Motivation of students. This section, therefore, outlines the study population, the sampling
design, the development of the study instruments, data collection, data analysis and the work
schedule.
3.2 Population
The study participants will be high school students from Villa International High School
Malé Island and Baarashu School in Baarah Island, both in the Maldives. Both schools
comprise of learners from varying economic background. The participants to be selected by
the researcher will be from various English clusters in the 10th, 11th, and 12th grades.
3.3 Sampling Design
The study will adopt Stratified Random Sampling since it allows sub-divisions into strata
(Acharya et al., 2013). Thus, the schools will be selected to represent a sub-group. The
researcher will include learners and staff from one best performing school (Villa International
School) and from a low to medium performing school (Baarashu School). Then cluster
sampling (Neuman, 2013) will be used to choose the students on the basis of cluster
membership such as maths class or English class, irrespective of the team’s ability. The
teachers from the selected classes will also complete the self-evaluation questionnaire. A total
of 18 teachers and 220 students from both schools are expected to participate in the study.
3.4 Instrumentation
The Motivated Strategies for Learning Survey (MSLQ) will be used to measure student
motivation, whereas, the feedback from the students will be evaluated with the help of the
Questionnaire on Teacher Interaction (QTI). The means of the student grades will be used to

Teacher-Student Associations, Academic Performance and Motivation 9
measure their academic performance. The MSLQ is divided into two parts: the Motivation
and the Learning strategies. The MSLQ ascertains the planning, monitoring, and regulation
(Schunk, Meece, & Pintrich, 2012). The QTI evaluates the teacher conduct while in the class,
and it uses a five Point Likert Scale.
3.5 Data Collection
After the development of the research framework, permission will be sought for from the
relevant bodies or departments and after which additional contacts will be made between the
researcher and the anticipated participant teachers and the researcher. Parental consent will as
well be sought for through the teachers. The study will be conducted on specific agree dates
and during school hours. Those that will be suitable to contribute in the survey will be
required to sign a Child Consent Form. The survey will then be administered to each
participant from the selected cluster for both schools, without the presence of the teacher in
the respective classroom. Similarly, the individual English class teachers will fill in their
questionnaires outside the classroom and submit them to the researcher. The student
questionnaires from a specific English class will be coded alongside that of their teacher.
The student performance grades will be obtained from the school database on the same day
the survey is carried out. The gathered raw data will then be assigned codes to safeguard ones
individual information. Then all the data will be entered into excel spreadsheets. The
information will then be keyed into Statistical Programme for Social Sciences (SPSS) version
20 for analyses and interpretation.
3.6 Data Analysis
After data is entered into the SPSS program, the demographic data will first be analyzed.
Descriptive statistics including the percentages, frequency, and standard deviations will also
be analyzed. Inferential statistics will as well be analyzed, and this includes determining the

Teacher-Student Associations, Academic Performance and Motivation 10
Pearson product moment r correlation to ascertain the relationship between the study
variables.
3.7 Schedule of Research Survey
The survey is expected to last for five months, starting March to August 2018, during 2018 to
2019 academic school year. The detailed description of the specific tasks and the period are
shown below.
Table 3.1: Schedule of Research Survey
Task Name Start date End Date
Duration(Day
s)
Project proposal
organization
23/03/201
8
06/04/201
8 14
Literature review
10/04/201
8
01/05/201
8 21
Data collection process
04/05/201
8
09/06/201
8 36
Data analysis process
12/06/201
8
10/07/201
8 28
Report presentation
20/07/201
8
30/07/201
8 10
Figure 3.1 : Gantt Chart
Project proposal organiztion
Literature review
Data collection process
Data anlaysis process
Report presentation
23 March
12 May
01 July
20 August

Teacher-Student Associations, Academic Performance and Motivation 11

Teacher-Student Associations, Academic Performance and Motivation 12
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