Teacher Perceptions of the Impact of Professional Development and Teacher-Student Relationships on School Climate

Abstract

Improvement in student achievement is the object of increased accountability measures in public education. Teachers often enter the classroom feeling unprepared to teach the diverse populations that arrive at school each day. Discipline concerns and lack of classroom management skills often hinder teachers from increasing student achievement levels. This study investigated the role of professional development activities that focused on teacher-student relationships and improved school climate as a resource to further empower teachers to move students toward optimal student achievement. The lack of research on this topic lead the researcher to consider the following research questions: (1) What is the relationship between professional development activities to improve classroom management and teacher-student relationships?; (2) To what extent have continuous professional development activities to improve classroom management impacted teacher perceptions of school climate?; (3) To what extent have continuous professional development activities to improve classroom management affected teacher perceptions of teacher-student relationships?; (4) To what extent have professional development activities to improve classroom management affected the methods of classroom management utilized by teachers? Descriptive statistics were used to analyze data that was collected from the completion of the Teacher Perceptions of the Impact of Professional Development and Teacher-Student Relationships on School Climate Survey. The survey also included three open-ended questions that yielded themes that emerged from the responses. Statistically significant data revealed that effective professional development practices impacted the perceptions of teachers regarding the presence of teacher-student relationships that would lead to improved school climate.