2011 CEA Pat Clifford Award Winner: Positive teacher-student relationships play a unique role for students with special needs
Toronto – October 11, 2011 – The Canadian Education Association (CEA) is pleased to recognize Dr. Jessica Toste, postdoctoral research fellow in the Department of Special Education at Vanderbilt University and adjunct professor in the Department of Educational & Counselling Psychology at McGill University, for showing how teacher-student relationships can make a significant contribution to student success, particularly among those with special needs.
Positive relationships between students and teachers have consistently been found to be predictors of school success, including general gains in academic achievement. Dr. Toste’s work recognizes and defines the influence of an effective working relationship between students and teachers, particularly important for students with learning disabilities.
Dr. Toste’s research applies the theory of Classroom Working Alliance, which includes the emotional aspects of the student-teacher relationship; the bond defined by a sense of a mutual trust, liking, respect, and caring. It also includes the collaborative aspects of the relationship; agreement about learning goals and activities/experiences that will help the student reach these goals. A positive alliance involves a strong sense of partnership between the teacher and the student.
“When students with special needs felt they had a strong collaborative relationship with their teacher, it actually counteracted the negative outcomes that they were more likely to have in school,” says Dr. Toste, “and overall, students who rated highly in collaborative relationships tended to have very different outcomes in school.”
Dr. Toste has validated Classroom Working Alliance with elementary-aged students and their teachers. Although Dr. Toste’s work focuses on students with learning disabilities, it is highly relevant to all students.
The Clifford Award Selection Committee was genuinely impressed with the originality, depth, and relevance of Dr. Toste’s work.
“Jessica’s focus on the relationships between students and teachers and, in particular the notion of working alliances, make an important contribution to educational research and to CEA’s strategic research programs, which stress the reciprocity of teaching and learning,” says Carolyn Duhamel, Executive Director of the Manitoba School Boards Association and Clifford Award Selection Committee Chair.
Dr. Toste will present her research work and be formally recognized for this award at the CEA Council Meetings on October 27th in Montreal.
To access a detailed briefing and a bibliography of some of Dr. Toste’s work, please visit: www.cea-ace.ca/cliffordaward
About the Pat Clifford Award
This Award is named after Dr. Pat Clifford, one of the co-founders of The Galileo Educational Network. Pat had an extensive teaching background from primary through graduate level, and was the recipient of numerous awards for both research and teaching practice. Pat passed away in August of 2008 but she left a gift to us in her teaching, scholarly writing, poetry and stories.
About the Canadian Education Association (CEA)
CEA is a cross-Canada network of educators and education influencers who are passionate about education: those who work in classrooms and schools, district offices, research and policy circles, and not-for-profit and business sectors. CEA conducts research, generates constructive ideas, and shares them with educators, students, and other stakeholders. Its strength lies in the strategic roles it plays in the Canadian education scene: as a thought and action leader, a connector, and a knowledge mobilizer.
For more information:
Max Cooke
CEA Director of Communications (bilingual)
416-591-6300 ext. 225
mcooke@cea-ace.ca
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