The Importance of Relationships in Education

Physical Health Education Teacher Education
Advisor: Cathy McKay, Ed.D., CAPE

This presentation highlights work that was completed for a graduate course in the fall. While many of my peers took a look at topics such as motivation in physical education and teacher burnout, I decided to conduct research on the importance of relationships. Since we were in preschool we started forming relationships with our teachers, I can still remember my preschool teacher to this day. If she hadn't taken the time to form a relationship with me, then I would have forgotten all about her. Why is this so important one may ask? Many students go through life without having trusted relationships, especially with adults, which is why I sought out current educators in the field to discuss their experience with teacher-student relationships. My findings were uplifting and brought me hope that I could one day be the teacher they talked about in their reflections on teacher-student relationships. At the end of the day, the students in our classrooms are the only thing that should matter to us. Providing them with a safe and trusting environment should be a priority for every teacher in the field, and many teachers would agree with that statement. We can teach students content all day long, but if we do not have a relationship with them, it doesn't matter what they learn and a small piece of that is brought to life on this poster presentation.