This practice guide provides practical suggestions to build positive connections with your students leading to positive teacher–student relationships.

About this practice

Teachers play a significant role in the lives of their students, not just in terms of academic learning but also in their social and emotional development. Connecting with students to build trust and form positive relationships is instrumental in creating learning environments where students feel safe, respected and motivated to learn. Meaningful interactions and a well-managed classroom are key contributors to creating positive connections with students. Over time, this builds a sense of trust that enables students to have a sense of belonging in class.

From the very first moments students interact with you, they’re identifying if you’re someone to approach or avoid. Investing time and effort into connecting positively with all students and getting to know them will help you build relationships.

Effective classroom management creates safe and supportive learning environments for all students. This practice guide is part of a suite of foundational resources for beginning teachers, teachers working in new environments, or experienced teachers who want to refine or refresh specific elements of their classroom management practice. They can be used to individually reflect on and refine one’s own practice, or as shared resources to support mentoring and other collaborative and whole-school approaches to improving classroom management.

See Classroom Management Resources: User Guide for more information.


Keywords: student engagement, disruption, disruptive behaviour