Source: Science Daily

A positive relationship with a teacher at an early age may help children to feel more engaged with school, but not necessarily in the long term, new research shows.

The finding comes from a University of Cambridge study of more than 3,600 young people in Australia, using data gathered at several points between the ages of eight and 15. The students’ levels of school engagement — meaning their interest in school and willingness to learn — fluctuated during this period, especially during the pivotal transition from primary to secondary education.

While depictions of teaching in popular culture sometimes imply that one teacher can transform a student’s school career, the results of the study suggest that student engagement patterns are more nuanced and are likely to require a sustained and collective effort to build positive relationships both between teachers and students, and students and their peers.

Read more on Science Daily!