Cultivating Caring Relationships Between Teachers and Secondary Students With Emotional and Behavioral Disorders

Educating secondary students with emotional and behavioral disorders (EBD) is often an overwhelming task that places high demands on teachers. Existing research on effective social-emotional/behavioral and academic interventions for students with EBD is limited but expanding. Unfortunately, school and life outcomes for these students are dismal compared to other students. Certainly, there is much to learn about achieving positive outcomes for students with EBD. This article examines the potential role that caring teacher—student relationships have in achieving better outcomes for students with EBD within their current educational contexts. A rationale for why developing caring teacher—student relationships is important to improved outcomes for students with EBD is presented based on the current literature on caring teacher—student relationships. Potential barriers are delineated, followed by a summary of practices that serve as starting points for developing caring relationships between teachers and students with EBD. Last, research implications are suggested.

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