Factors Affecting College Teacher-Student Relationship - A Case Study of a Govt College in Bangladesh

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mabel

Study examines factors shaping college teacher-student relationships in a Bangladesh government college, addressing a research gap in higher education. Quantitative evidence comes from 157 undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students via a Google-based survey distributed through Facebook groups; qualitative evidence comes from eight students interviewed through Zoom using convenience sampling. Results indicate teacher characteristics and age, pedagogy, friendliness, attitudes, student characteristics, experience patterns, and cultural similarities affect relationship formation, while student age and sex show no influence. Findings also highlight the relationship’s value for engagement, academic attainment, adaptability, learning atmosphere connection, disruptive behavior reduction, and lower dropout tendency.

LanguageEnglish

CategoryResearch & Report

FormatPDF

Pages20

Reading Time50 min

AccessFree to download

Introduction

Factors affecting the teacher-student relationship

Study findings and implications

Factors Affecting College Teacher-Student Relationship: A Case Study of a Govt College in Bangladesh Bilash Mallik Master Trainer Associate in Education, Nottingham University, Malaysia, Assistant Professor, Department of Sociology, Govt. Brojomohun College, Bangladesh, [bilashsoc@gmail.com](bilashsoc@gmail.com) Although a growing number of studies focused on the teacher-student relationship in a school context, little research on this issue in a college context is evident in the literature. Even no studies till now focus on factors that affect college teacher-student relationships. This study attempted to explore this issue and the significance of the teacher-student relationship for students. Data for the quantitative phase came from 157 undergraduate, graduate, and postgraduate students from Government Brojomohun College, Bangladesh, who voluntarily participated in a Google-based survey questionnaire posted on Facebook groups; data for the qualitative phase came from eight students who participated in a semi-structured interview via the Zoom platform, using convenience sampling. The findings revealed that the teachers'characteristics and ages, pedagogy, friendlier approach, attitude, students' characteristics, positive and negative experiences, and cultural similarities affect students to make relationships with teachers. However, neither the age nor the sex of the students has any effect on the college teacher-student relationship. Besides, college students value the teacher-student relationship as an influential element for their classroom engagement, academic attainment, college adaptability, relatedness with the educational atmosphere, reduction of disruptive behaviour and dropout tendency. Keywords: teacher-student relationship, college students, pedagogy, classroom engagement, academic attainment INTRODUCTION The teacher-student relationship is complex and bidirectional (Lixu, 2019) . In a bidirectional interaction, both teachers and students are involved. TSR is complex in the sense that it originates from the daily interaction of student and teacher as well as teacher qualities, which are continually impacting each other and their opinions of each other (Rudasill & RimmKaufman, 2009) . Besides, the nature of this relationship and its meaning changes over time. When students enter adolescence, their attention shifts from relationships with teachers to growing peer orientation (Lynch and Cicchetti, 1997) . Most studies, for example, reported a decline in the quality of teacher-student relationships from elementary to high school context (Lynch and Cicchetti 1997; Chang et al. 2004; O'Connor 2010; Moritz Rudasill et al. 2010) . This decline may be partly attributed to changes in the school environment (more students in the class, higher academic demands, and fewer opportunities for oneon-one contact with teachers), and partially to an increase in students' need for independence (Changet al. 2004) . The teacher-student relationship will have distinct characteristics at each stage of education, from primary school to college, and the techniques to develop a healthy relationship between teachers and students will be diverse (Li Xu, 2019) . It is argued that college students desire tobe more than just students since they are more independent and mature than their lower-level counterparts. They might aspire to a teacher-student relationship that is akin to that of a fisherman anda fishing net, in which the student serves as the net and the teacher is the fisherman who must cherish Citation: Malik, B. (2023) . Factors affecting college teacher-student relationship: A case study of a govt college in Bangladesh. Anatolian Journal of Education, 8(2), 161-180. [https://doi.org/10.29333/aje.2023.8211a](https://doi.org/10.29333/aje.2023.8211a) them, be able to let go of the net when necessary and allow students to work independently rather than strictly controlling them (Chan, Tong, & Henderson, 2017) . However,

FAQs

What was the study trying to explore about college teacher-student relationships?

The study explored factors affecting teacher-student relationships in college contexts and the significance of these relationships for college students.

How were the quantitative and qualitative data collected?

Quantitative data came from 157 students who completed a Google-based survey questionnaire shared in Facebook groups. Qualitative data came from eight students who took part in semi-structured interviews via Zoom using convenience sampling.

Which factors were found to influence the college teacher-student relationship?

Teacher characteristics and age, pedagogy, a friendlier approach, attitude, students’ characteristics, positive and negative experiences, and cultural similarities were found to affect relationship formation.

Did students’ age or sex affect the teacher-student relationship?

No. The findings reported no effect of either the age or the sex of students on the college teacher-student relationship.

Oct 15, 2026

Uploaded by Mabel