The Correlation Between Student-Teacher Rapport, Student Academic Achievement and Post-Graduation Plan

Abstract

This descriptive correlational study examined the impact of student-teacher rapport in relation to student academic achievement and post-graduation plans and was modelled after a study by Clark (2014). Ninety-seven Malaysian polytechnic business students from three academic programs completed the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) developed by Dr. Robert C. Pianta. The STRS inventory consists of 28 items that measure aspects of the relationship between the student and teacher and has three subscales (Conflict, Closeness and Dependency). Students’ self-reported Cumulative Grade Point Average (CGPA) was used as the measure of academic achievement. Data were analysed using descriptive and correlational analyses to determine whether or not student-teacher rapport significantly impacted academic achievement and post-graduation plans. Pearson Correlation analyses showed that the effect of student-teacher rapport on students’ academic achievement and post-graduation plans was not statistically significant. The results also revealed very low correlations between student-teacher rapport and post-graduation plans for all academic programs.  Low negative relationships were also found between student-teacher rapport and academic achievement for 2 academic programs, namely Diploma in Accountancy and Diploma in Business Studies. The results of this study pave the way for future research on student-teacher rapport and its effect on Malaysian polytechnic students’ academic achievement and post-graduation plans.

Keywords: Student-Teacher Relationship Scale, Academic Achievement, Post-Graduation Plans