Relational underpinnings and professionality – a case study of a teacher’s practices involving students with experiences of school failure

Abstract

Relational features of the educational environment, such as positive teacher-student relationships, are important for students’ academic success. This case study explores the relational practices of a teacher who negotiates educational relationships with students who have a history of school failure. ‘Gunilla’, a secondary school teacher working in the Swedish ‘Introduction Programme’ (for students who have not been accepted in national upper secondary school programmes) and identified as a successful instructor for students who have failed at school, was selected for the study. The data consists of two semi-structured interviews eliciting the informant’s stories of practice and the researcher’s contextual observation. Results show how relational practices create an emotionally safe school climate. In the initial phase of the teacher-student relationship the main purpose of the activities is to establish trust and repair the students’ self-image so that they can view themselves as successful learners. This requires professional closeness and the teacher distancing herself from a stereotypical teaching role, in order to display humaneness and empathy. The findings contribute to understanding how relational features in the everyday school context help students to learn and how school psychologists can be part of this endeavour.