UCLA

Thirty-two teachers and 71 students from urban middle schools were surveyed to examine the extent to which dimensions of teacher social-emotional capacity (SEC) were associated with teachers’ perceptions of building supportive teacher-student relationships (TSRs) with students, especially Black male students (BMSs), and the extent to which these students’ perceptions of TSRs were associated with classroom belonging. The study found that teachers high in SEC and in the SEC dimensions Relationship/Social Skills and Responsible Decision Making were less likely than their counterparts to report challenges in building supportive TSRs with all students and that there was a positive association between students’ perceptions of supportive TSRs and their sense of classroom belonging. Study findings have potential for closing the opportunity gap for BMSs. Recommendations for practice include targeting teacher professional development to improve teacher SEC overall and in the SEC dimensions Relationship/Social Skills and Responsible Decision Making.