Associations between students\u27 perceptions of teacher-student relationship quality, academic achievement, and classroom behavior: Are they moderated by ethnicity, gender, or socio economic status?

The primary purpose of this study was to explore the correlations between students\u27 perceptions of their relationships with teachers, students\u27 academic achievement and students\u27 classroom behavior. A secondary purpose of the study was to investigate if students\u27 ethnicity, gender and socio-economic status moderate the relationship. A survey was used to assess sixth grade students\u27 perceptions of relationships with their teachers when they were in fifth grade. Significant associations were found between student perceptions of positive relationships and high English Language arts achievement for African for African American, Hispanic, male and low socio economic status (SES) students. Significant associations were also found between higher CST scores in Math For African American, female and low SES students. Finally, negative teacher-student relationships were found to he associated with a higher probability of students receiving referrals for Hispanic, male and Low SES students. The results of this study suggest that positive student teacher relationships are associated with and may contribute to positive academic and behavioral outcomes for vulnerable students