Positive teacher–student relationships play a significant role in supporting teacher wellbeing in middle and secondary schools, according to a new study that brings fresh attention to the relational nature of teaching work.
Published in Educational Psychology Review, the paper, Associations Between Teacher-Student Relationship Quality and Middle and Secondary School Teachers’ Wellbeing: A Systematic Review, analysed 55 studies examining how relationship quality between teachers and students is associated with teacher wellbeing. The review found consistent evidence that positive, low-conflict relationships are linked to stronger wellbeing outcomes for teachers across multiple dimensions.
The study identified that positive teacher–student relationships were associated with teachers’ daily emotional experiences, as well as their sense of engagement, meaning and accomplishment in their work. These elements align with the PERMA model of wellbeing, which focuses on positive emotions, engagement, meaning and accomplishment as core contributors to overall wellbeing.
Importantly, the findings suggest that teacher–student relationship quality is not only relevant to classroom climate and student outcomes, but also functions as an indicator of teacher wellbeing, with implications for workforce sustainability and teacher retention.
Lead author and PhD candidate Ms Rhoda Lai, from Monash University’s Faculty of Education, said the findings highlight the need for schools to more deliberately recognise and support the relational demands of teaching.
“Schools that recognise the emotional labour involved in teaching are better placed to support staff across the year,” Ms Lai said. “Schools need to consider how building and sustaining relationships with students can be recognised as a core part of teachers’ work, with time, support, and professional development attached to it.”
Ms Lai noted that relationship-building can be particularly challenging to prioritise in secondary settings.
“Relationships are not always prioritised in high schools, where other things like covering content can take up considerable time,” she said.
The research arrives amid ongoing national concerns around teacher burnout, attrition and declining entry into the profession. Associate Professor Kelly-Ann Allen, a co-author on the paper and a belonging expert at Monash University’s Faculty of Education, said teacher wellbeing needs to be addressed as a priority in its own right.
“As the school year begins, we commonly see advice directed at adults on how best to support students returning to school. Students, however, are not the only people in school communities,” Associate Professor Allen said.
“If we take anything from research on teacher wellbeing over recent years, alongside growing concerns about teacher retention, burnout, and declining entry into the profession, it is that teacher wellbeing needs to be a clear priority in 2026. It cannot be a response to the previously mentioned concerns, because it deserves its own attention, in its own right, because teachers are important.”
The review positions teaching as inherently relational work, challenging the tendency to frame teacher–student relationships solely through the lens of student benefit.
“Our recent research treats teaching as relational work,” Associate Professor Allen said. “The benefits of student-teacher relationships are often framed as important for students. Teachers, however, also benefit from these relationships in meaningful ways.”
Across the studies examined, teachers who reported positive relationships with students were more likely to experience higher levels of wellbeing, including greater professional satisfaction, engagement and a stronger sense of meaning in their work. In contrast, strained relationships – particularly those characterised by ongoing conflict, violence or heightened emotional demands – were associated with increased risks to teacher wellbeing.
The findings underscore the role school leadership plays in shaping conditions that support healthy relationships. Ms Lai said leaders can help teachers manage relational demands more effectively by acknowledging relationship-building as skilled, emotionally demanding work rather than an informal or secondary aspect of teaching.
The research also points to practical features of positive relationships. Associate Professor Allen said consistency, warmth and predictability in interactions between teachers and students were key.
“When teachers use fair and predictable practices, share appropriate personal insights, and foster a sense of inclusion, teachers can find ways to share meaningful experiences with their students and know that this is benefiting their own wellbeing as much as their student’s,” she said.
The study reinforces that teacher–student relationships develop over time and require reciprocal effort and engagement within professional boundaries. Like other relationships, they are shaped by mutual respect and sustained interaction.
This perspective is echoed by students themselves. Victorian middle school student Florence said that because teachers and students typically spend an entire year together, investing in the relationship makes sense.
“Playing games in class, having fun with students, and giving out class rewards all help build positive relationships,” Florence said.
The researchers note that the positive effects of strong teacher–student relationships can endure well beyond the classroom. A well-established relationship can hold lasting value for both teachers and students and may be remembered decades later from both perspectives.
For school leaders, the findings add weight to calls for systemic approaches that recognise relational work as central to teaching practice. Allocating time, resources and professional learning to support relationship-building may play an important role in supporting teacher wellbeing, strengthening professional satisfaction and addressing longer-term retention challenges across middle and secondary schools.
