‘They make time for you’: upwardly mobile working-class boys and understanding the dimensions of nurturing and supportive student–teacher relationships

ABSTRACT

Improving the academic and social outcomes of boys – specifically boys from low-SES backgrounds – remains of international importance. With this in mind, research continues to document the ways in which relational learning is integral for the well-being of students, specifically those students in disadvantaged school contexts. This paper focuses on relational learning as an important resource that marginalised young men draw upon, informing their future orientation towards higher education beyond their compulsory schooling. Within studies of men and masculinities, the affective turn has recently played a significant role in how we understand men as relational. Focusing upon a cohort of boys from some of the poorest urban regions in Australia, the paper addresses how their affective relationships with teachers contribute not only to their conception of themselves as learners but also their general well-being, confidence and aspirations. Through highlighting two trends in the data – Teacher as Persistent Nurturer and Teacher as Supporter – the research presented extends two lines of inquiry. First, understanding student–teacher relationships in disadvantaged educational contexts and, second, the importance of positive student–teacher relationships for working-class boys who have historically disengaged from their education.

KEYWORDS:

• Boys’ education
• student–teacher relationships
• relational learning
• affect
• aspirations

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author.

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the Australian Research Council [DE170100510].