Teacher-student relationships during the first year of secondary education. Exploring of change and link with motivation outcomes in The Netherlands and Indonesia

PhD ceremony: Mr. R. Maulana, 14.30 uur, Academiegebouw, Broerstraat 5, Groningen

Dissertation: Teacher-student relationships during the first year of secondary education. Exploring of change and link with motivation outcomes in The Netherlands and Indonesia

Promotor(s): prof. R.J. Bosker

Faculty: Behavioural and Social Sciences

Teacher-students relationships (TSRs) have been known to affect student outcomes. However, we know little how TSRs change across the school year and how the change affects motivational outcomes, taken into account different cultural contexts. It was found that an instrument for measuring TSRs could be adapted well to the Indonesian context. Similar to findings in the Western context, Indonesian teachers tend to perceive themselves more favourable than their students in terms of TSRs. However, while the quality of TSRs in Dutch classrooms, on average, tends to deteriorate, the quality of TSRs in Indonesian classrooms seems to improve across the school year. Furthermore, students’ motivational outcomes change in an unfavourable way. Low-quality indicators of motivational outcomes tend to increase slightly, while high-quality indicators of motivational outcomes tend to decrease over time, with a stronger decline in Dutch compared to Indonesian classrooms. Class type, teacher gender, and teaching subject are important determinants of TSRs and motivational outcomes. Importantly, TSRs seem to be important for motivational outcomes, regardless the cultural context. Negative developments in TSRs seem to have negative effects on the development of motivational outcomes. Therefore, the improvement of the quality of TSRs should be a priority in schools.