The impact of school culture, school climate, and teachers’ job satisfaction on the teacher-student relationship: a case study in four Estonian schools

ABSTRACT

Teachers in Estonia are working in a tense environment of conflicting expectations which, on the one hand, involves a neoliberal approach to standards and, on the other, the humanistic values of education and well-being of students. The purpose of the study was to identify the factors of school climate which ensure both the job satisfaction of teachers and the satisfaction of students, and to analyse the impact of these factors on the teacher-student relationship. The findings are based on the results of interviews with teachers (n=40) and students (n=39) and the results of student questionnaires (n=139) conducted in four schools. The teachers and students who were satisfied with the school and their job perceived the teacher-student relationship through the following aspects: the potential of students, openness to knowledge, the recognition of personal qualities, equal treatment and taking students into account. Despite the external turbulence in the Estonian school system, all schools still have the autonomy to transform their school into an oasis where all parties feel satisfied.

KEYWORDS:

• school climate
• school leadership
• teachers’ job satisfaction
• students’ school satisfaction
• teacher-student relationship

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Eda Heinla

Eda Heinla is an emeritus associate professor at Tallinn University, her main field of research is creativity in education.

Tiiu Kuurme

Tiiu Kuurme is an associate professor of educational sciences at Tallinn University's Institute of Educational Sciences, her main field of research is general educational scientific theories.