Measuring the “Working Alliance” Between Teacher and Student

In this Elementary School Journal article, Jessica Toste (University of Texas/Austin), Nancy Heath (McGill University), Carol McDonald Connor (Arizona State University), and Peng Peng (George Washington University) suggest that a good way to conceptualize the teacher-student relationship – so important to students’ success – is as a “working alliance.” The ideal working alliance has three components:

• Bond – The emotional component that includes “positive attachments based on mutual trust, liking, respect, and caring;” 
• Task – Understanding and agreement about what needs to be learned;
• Goal – The degree to which both parties are collaborating toward classroom goals. 

The researchers used the Classroom Working Alliance Inventory to measure the strength of these components in a number of grade 3-6 classrooms. Here are the actual questions from the teacher and student versions, with responses collected on a 5-4-3-2-1 Likert scale:

Teacher version – Bond:

• I believe _____ likes me.
• I am confident in my ability to help _____ at school.
• I enjoy working with ______.
• _____ and I trust one another

Task:

• _____ and I agree about the things he/she needs to do to improve schoolwork.
• I am confident that what _____ is doing in school will help him/her learn better in the areas of difficulty.
• I think _____ and I agree on what is important for him/her to work on.
• I believe that what I work on in school with ______ is useful.

Goal:

• I believe that _____ and I agree on what he/she needs to learn and why.
• We are working towards goals that we have agreed upon together.
• ______ and I agree about what his/her difficulties are.
• We agree about what ______ needs to do differently in school.

Student version – Bond:

• I believe _____ likes me.
• I am confident that _____ can help me at school.
• I feel that _____ enjoys working with me.
• _____ and I trust one another.

Task:

• _____ and I agree about the things I need to do to help me improve my schoolwork.
• What I am doing in school helps me learn better in the areas where I have difficulty.
• We agree on what is important for me to work on.
• I believe that what I work on in school with _____ is useful.

Goal:

• _____ understands what I want to learn at school and why.
• _____ and I are working towards goals that we both agree on.
• _____ and I agree about what my difficulties are.
• We agree about what I need to do differently in school.

The researchers found significant internal consistency with both questionnaires, also that 

students’ descriptions of their relationship with teachers correlated well with their teachers’. The study also found that teachers had better bond/task/goal working alliances with students who were better behaved and more cooperative. 

“The obvious impact of teacher-student relationships on students’ functioning makes it imperative that teacher professional development emphasizes the importance of understanding and promoting relationships,” conclude the authors. The three-part model goes beyond just liking students and, they say, and “provides an avenue for teachers to connect with students with whom it may be more difficult to form emotional bonds.”

“Reconceptualizing Teacher-Student Relationships” by Jessica Toste, Nancy Heath, Carol McDonald Connor, and Peng Peng in The Elementary School Journal, September 2015 (Vol. 116, #1, p. 30-48), available for purchase at http://bit.ly/1PL5qcc. 

From the Marshall Memo #612