Effective teacher-student relationships are intrinsic to student wellbeing, including their social and academic development.
Good teacher-student relationships are the foundation of effective classroom management, student engagement with content, achieving academic goals and positive social and emotional development.
In terms of teachers, these positive relationships build self-efficacy, increase engagement with the teaching practice and reduce stress.
Learning to build these relationships is not on any curriculum for training teachers, nor is there any real focus in ongoing professional development.
Instead, the focus is on curriculum knowledge, something which is compromised if the Instead the focus is on curriculum knowledge, which is compromised if there is little engagement within the teacher-student relationship, problematic behaviour causing disruption, and diminished teacher wellbeing and effectiveness.
A greater emphasis on student wellbeing will produce more engaged students capable of greater academic achievement.