Exploring the pupil-teacher relationship in policy, popular discourse and teacher conceptualisations

About the Project

The pupil-teacher relationship is known to be an influential force in the school experience (Looker & Kington, 2020; Looker et al, 2023; Whittaker, 2024). From the Department for Education (DfE, 2024a; 2024b) to the Education Endowment Foundation (EEF, 2021), key policymakers and policy actors encourage teachers to exploit the potential within these relationships to improve pupil behaviour and pupil outcomes (Bennett, 2020; EEF, 2021; DfE, 2024a; 2024b; Ofsted, 2024).

While this crucial relationship (or pedagogical relation) has a long history of research consideration (Nohl, 1933; Tiedeman, 1942), and while particular types of teacher-pupil relationships are associated with positive pupil outcomes (Skinner & Belmont, 1993; Lee & Loeb, 2000; Hamre & Pianta, 2001; Blum, 2005; Cornelius-White, 2007; Bernstein-Yamashiro & Noam, 2013), little research has been conducted that explores how the nature of the pupil-teacher relationship has changed over time and how the discourses of policymakers’ and policy actors’ influence, and have influenced, our conception of these relationships.

This project would seek to address how the pupil-teacher relationship is constructed in popular discourse. Further, it would explore how the popular discourse interacts with teachers’ constructions of their pupil-teacher relationships. In order to achieve this, it is anticipated that the study might include a desk-based examination of secondary data sources, such as policymakers’ and policy actors’ white papers, speeches and other texts (Spicksley & Kington, 2023), combined with primary data gathered from teachers using a range of qualitative methods.

The study will contribute to our understanding of this vital classroom relationship and how policy discourses shape them, leading to the identification of implications for policy and practice.

Supervisory team

• Director of Studies: Professor Alison Kington
• Supervisors: Dr Daniel Whittaker & Dr Ben Looker
• Research Group:Social Psychology of Education

Application Process

To begin the application process please go to: https://www.worc.ac.uk/research/research-degrees/applying-for-a-phd/.

The Interview

All successful applicants will be offered an interview with the proposed Supervisory Team. You will be contacted by a member of the Doctoral School Team to find a suitable date. Interviews can be conducted in person or over Microsoft Teams.

Funding your PhD

For information about Doctoral Loans please visit: https://www.worc.ac.uk/study/fees-and-finance/doctoral-loans.aspx

During your PhD you can access the Research Conference Support Scheme to support the costs of presenting your research at an external conference.

For further information or an informal discussion on this project, please contact Prof Alison Kington: a.kington@worc.ac.uk