Trusting Relationships

The Power of Student–Teacher Relationships

Think back to a teacher who made a lasting difference in your life.

What did they do that helped you trust them?

Most likely, it was not a worksheet, a curriculum, or a behavior chart. It was how they made you feel.

Research consistently shows that positive teacher-student relationships increase engagement, learning, memory, and motivation. Simple relational practices — greeting students warmly, listening with curiosity, validating emotions, and communicating belief in students’ abilities — can profoundly shape a child’s experience of school.

Positive interactions also release oxytocin, sometimes called the “connection hormone,” for both teachers and students, strengthening trust and emotional safety.

As researcher Cornelius-White notes, students thrive when educators actively listen, seek their perspectives, and communicate understanding back to them.

Relationships are not separate from learning. Relationships make learning possible.

• Regulation of Emotion Supports 

  • Maintain a calm voice and demeanor 

  • Be aware of student body language 

  • Teach self-awareness

  • Recognize and gauge emotional state (Visual as well as verbal)  

  • Teach vocabulary for discussing feelings 

  • Teach affect modulation/Calming 

  • Response examples for social situations 

  • Identify trigger situations 

  • Provide a safe space to express emotions 

  • Breaks and calming techniques 

  • AVOID: Trivializing student feelings and engaging in a power struggle 

Read more about Trusting Relationships

• Kernels of Practice for SEL. (PDF)

• Relationships Social Emotional Learning in the Classroom (PDF)

• The influence of teacher and peer relationships on students' classroom engagement (PDF)

• “Teacher Child Relationships and Children’s Success in the First Years of School”,  Pianta and Stuhlman,  School Psychology Review, 2004, Number 33, Volume 3