As more evidence has accumulated regarding child and adolescent
development and school mental health promotion has promulgated, significant variables
correlated with mental health promotion have emerged with repetition and replication.
One such variable is the importance of teacher student relationships. High quality
teacher student relationships are necessary components of school’s mental health
promotion and, more broadly, comprehensive school performance. Conversely, such
matters as negative attributions toward student ability and behavior and teacher student
conflicts both tend to constrain desirable student outcomes and are disposed to be highly
recalcitrant to change. This chapter summarizes data on these issues, provides strategies
for enhancing teacher student relationships that stimulate mental health and optimizing
positive outcomes, discusses influences that hinder positive relationships and remediate
negative relationships that may already exist, and concludes with a brief discussion of
future investigation that will advance our knowledge of this important area.
Keywords: Academic needs, at risk, conflict, mental health needs, teacherstudent
relationships.