Teacher-Student Interactions and Teacher Interpersonal Styles: A State Space Grid Analysis

The crucial role of teacher-student relationships has been reported in
many studies. Yet, how teacher-student relationships develop from
moment-to-moment interactions during lessons remains understudied. The
present study combined insights from interpersonal theory and dynamic
systems approaches to study indices of interpersonal content and structure
in teacher-student interactions and their association with the teacher’s
interpersonal style. We found that moment-to-moment teacher behavior
was indeed related to student perceptions of the teacher’s interpersonal
style. Indices of variability (structure) in interactions discriminated between
teachers with less preferred and more preferred interpersonal styles, while,
contrary to earlier research, the indicator of predictableness of interactions
could not. Results are discussed considering the expectations, and suggestions made for future research and practice.