Student Socioeconomic Status and Teacher Stroke: A Case of Female Students in Iran

Abstract

Supportive teacher-student relationships play a significant role in the trajectory of studentsí academic life. Teachers may use various strategies to improve this relationship, one of which is teacher stroke (teacher encouragement). The stroking behavior of teachers might be influenced by several factors, including the socioeconomic status (SES) of students. Accordingly, the current study aims to investigate the differences among female English language teachers at three different school districts (i.e., upper, middle, and lower socio-economic class) in Mashhad, Iran, with regard to their stroking behavior. To fulfill this aim, 300 eighth-grade female students responded to an 18-item questionnaire and the collected data were subsequently analyzed using a one-way ANOVA. The results revealed that teachers tend to stroke high-SES students more frequently. The second aim of this study was to find out if there is a significant correlation between teacher stroke and studentsí GPA. The results indicated that all the sub-components of stroke significantly correlate with studentsí GPA. Moreover, the results of a stepwise multiple regression test indicated that two of the sub-components of stroke, namely valuing and classroom activities, strongly predict studentsí GPA. Finally, the findings of the study have been discussed in light of the existing literature and implications have been provided for language teaching in the formal context of education.

EFL/ESL Teacher’s Resilience, Academic Buoyancy, Care, and Their Impact on Students’ Engagement: A Theoretical Review

“…In education, teacher-student rapport is one of the most important factors which causes many positive outcomes, such as developing interpersonal communication skills, intelligence, motivation, achievement, and confidence (Irajzad and Shahriari, 2017;Derakhshan et al, 2019). The concept of teacher care was first proposed by Rogers and Webb (1991) who described care as teachers' behaviors and practices that foster the establishment of a strong, positive, and harmonious interpersonal relationship with their students.…”

“…the classroom. In a context full of adversities, teacherstudents' supportive relationships can function as a panacea and a driving force for improving students' achievement and teachers' performance (Irajzad and Shahriari, 2017). When teachers care about their pupils, they provide a reason for the students to invest their time in learning a subject.…”

In what ways students’ socio-economic status affecting academic performance?

“…In addition, according to Chen et al [12], the relationship between family SES and AP has always been an essential issue in sociology, pedagogy, and psychology. In terms of pedagogy, parents as family members have a significant role in the success or failure of students' AP [9], [54]. Parents' SES affects students' academic achievement and prompts children from low socio-economic backgrounds unable to compete with their peers from high SES under the same academic environment [8].…”

Empathetic Design: A Sustainable Approach to School Change

“…Despite the efforts of the federal mandated law No Child Left Behind (U.S. Department of Education, 2001) Officers, 2010) to increase student achievement and graduation rates, both initiatives have met with limited and mixed results (Duckworth, Quinn, & Tsukayama, 2012;Eppley, 2015;Husband & Hunt, 2015;Tienken & Orlich 2013). Students who dropped out of high school faced a 49 percent unemployment rate in 2015 (National Center for Educational Statistics, 2017) generating a socio-economic impact on their lifestyle and on the local, state, and federal support systems for those individuals and families who lived below the poverty level (Barry & Reschely, 2012).…”