The problem of the appropriateness of teachers’ behavior and attitude towards students is connected with the differences in their roles. Mainly, the educators have to manage the groups, while the learners have to obey the instructions. However, these people may also establish more close relationships, which others can criticize. Consequently, this study aims at the identification of the appropriate relationship between the professors and the students. Various literary sources are analyzed to identify that they can be divided into four groups. Dr Patrick and McPhee (2014), for instance, consider that teachers should be flexible to guarantee that the diverse needs of different students are satisfied. Four distinct ideas are observed in literature: the teachers should develop authoritarian attitudes, they should be more democratic with the learners, they have to combine both approaches, and they have to regard different students individually.
The first idea determined in the literature analysis is the necessity to maintain an authoritarian communication style. Golann (2015) analyzes students’ experience in no-excuses schools and determines that the factors of discipline, order, and constant instructions contribute to the improvement of learners’ performance. Mainly, it helps them become more organized and obedient and manage their time and emotions. Biesta (2015) concentrates on the role of judgment as a necessary component of education. The scholar observes how the abuse of authority leads to the distortions of this concept, making modern education more liberal and criticizing any traces of authoritarian attitude. The researcher describes the “teleological character of education,” emphasizing that the purposes of studying justify the necessity to accept a teacher as an authority (Biesta, 2015, p. 84). Palmer (2017, p. 36) also claims that the teachers and students are “distanced by grading system” and the bureaucracy of the educational system. Thus, the scholar approaches the theme by explaining why they appear on the opposite sides.
The next attitude is associated with the idea that teachers should establish more friendly relationships with the students. Asterhan and Rosenberg (2015) observe the experience of teachers’ and undergraduates’ communication on Facebook to identify that it may positively affect the establishment of good relationships between them. Heng (2017) discusses the opinions of the international students and admits that the professors’ more attentive attitude and initiative would allow them to feel more confident and comfortable. Simmons, Graham, and Thomas (2015) claim that the democratic approach plays an essential role in improving students’ well-being. Nilson (2016, p. 81) explains that “having positive rapport” with the teacher motivates and enhances the students’ learning outcomes. These studies demonstrate that the democratic approach is a valuable practice that might help teachers cope with their students’ various problems.
Some of the studies focus on combining the authoritarian and liberal approaches, explaining that confidential and friendly relationships allow increasing discipline. Ford and Sassi (2014) present the view that the combination of authority and the establishment of interpersonal relations should become the way to improve the performance of learners. Mainly, they regard the studying process of white teachers teaching the African-American students to understand that concepts of justice, critical assessment of the curriculum, and establishing interpersonal links help discipline the learners and make them trust the educator. Okonofua, Paunesku, and Walton (2016) also propose that the introduction of empathy into the disciplinary methods of teaching contributes to improving students’ outcomes. This research identified that tutors should combine the methods to control the students with an understanding of the learners’ feelings.
The other opinion concerns the idea that there is no one single approach benefiting all the students. Mainly, learners’ needs and attitudes to teaching differ due to their background and personal experience. Jack (2016) explains that the students with different backgrounds perceive their communication with authorities differently. Mainly, undergraduates from middle-class families feel more confident in interaction with the authorities, while the lower-income learners avoid this interaction. Haber-Curran and Tillapaugh (2015) also illustrate how the difference in the attitudes to the learners benefits their performance, presenting the student-centered approach to teaching. Gay (2018) supports this view with the analysis of the necessity to regard the cultural background of the undergraduates. This approach might help to satisfy the diverse needs of all learners. Dr Patrick also considers that students’ diversity signifies that teachers should be flexible. Jaap and Patrick (2015) also consider that applying diverse methods to teaching approaches might help enhance students’ talents. Lester et al. (2019) support this attitude, defining that it might help improve learners’ psychological state. Finally, Patrick and McPhee (2019, p. 4) introduce the idea of problem-based learning opportunities to enhance the performance of the undergraduates.
Thus, the analysis of literary sources reveals four distinct approaches to the theme of the educator-student relationships. The first group of researchers concludes that teachers should maintain discipline and distance themselves from the undergraduates. The second approach introduces the viewpoint that they should be more democratic and allow themselves to have friendly relationships with the tutees. The third approach to the issue regards the interrelation between discipline and informal communication, concluding that both these components are necessary. Finally, the last opinion evaluates the distinctions of humans, assuming that different students should be treated individually. Although these sources provide substantial analyses of the theme, they fail to identify the specific consequences that each of these approaches might have for the students. Therefore, the comparison of how these attitudes influence the learners might help to determine the best option.
References
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Biesta, G. (2015). What is education for? On good education, teacher judgement, and educational professionalism. European Journal of education, 50(1), 75-87.
Ford, A. C., & Sassi, K. (2014). Authority in cross-racial teaching and learning (re) considering the transferability of warm demander approaches. Urban Education, 49(1), 39-74.
Gay, G. (2018). Culturally responsive teaching: Theory, research, and practice. Teachers College Press.
Golann, J. W. (2015). The paradox of success at a no-excuses school. Sociology of education, 88(2), 103-119.
Haber-Curran, P., & Tillapaugh, D. W. (2015). Student-centered transformative learning in leadership education: An examination of the teaching and learning process. Journal of Transformative Education, 13(1), 65-84.
Heng, T. T. (2017). Voices of Chinese international students in USA colleges:‘I want to tell them that…’. Studies in Higher Education, 42(5), 833-850.
Jaap, A., & Patrick, F. (2015). Teachers’ concepts of musical talent and nurturing musical ability: music learning as exclusive or as opportunity for all?. Music Education Research, 17(3), 262-277.
Jack, A. A. (2016). (No) harm in asking: Class, acquired cultural capital, and academic engagement at an elite university. Sociology of Education, 89(1), 1-19.
Lester, K. J., Lisk, S. C., Carr, E., Patrick, F., & Eley, T. C. (2019). Associations between attentional bias and interpretation bias and change in school concerns and anxiety symptoms during the transition from primary to secondary school. Journal of abnormal child psychology, 47(9), 1521-1532.
Nilson, L. B. (2016). Teaching at its best: A research-based resource for college instructors. John Wiley & Sons.
Okonofua, J. A., Paunesku, D., & Walton, G. M. (2016). Brief intervention to encourage empathic discipline cuts suspension rates in half among adolescents. Proceedings of the National Academy of Sciences, 113(19), 5221-5226.
Palmer, P. J. (2017). The courage to teach: Exploring the inner landscape of a teacher’s life. John Wiley & Sons.
Patrick, F., & McPhee, A. (2014). Evaluating the use of problem-based learning in a new initial teacher education degree. Teacher Education Advancement Network Journal, 6(2), 3-12.
Simmons, C., Graham, A., & Thomas, N. (2015). Imagining an ideal school for wellbeing: Locating student voice. Journal of Educational Change, 16(2), 129-144.