Diana Raufelder

Background: Teachers' relational goals are important prerequisites of positive teacher–student relationships, in turn shaping students' emotional experiences during the learning process. However, the reciprocal nature of these interrelations remains unclear. Aims: We tested reciprocal relations between teachers' relational goals, student‐perceived conflicts with teachers, and students' boredom in German and mathematics class. Sample: N = 89 German language teachers with their n = 1573 students and n = 77 mathematics teachers with their n = 1588 students who participated across four time points (T1–T4) over two school years. Methods: We estimated two subject‐specific (German/mathematics) random‐intercept cross‐lagged panel models (RI‐CLPMs). Results: In German classes, teachers' relational goals (T3) negatively related to students' boredom (T4). In mathematics classes, students' boredom (T1) negatively related to teachers' relational goals (T2). In both subjects, students' overall conflict with the teacher was positively related to their overall boredom. Conclusions: The findings suggest subject‐specific transactional dynamics rather than consistent reciprocal effects by showing that German language teachers' relational goals are related to lower subsequent boredom, whereas in mathematics, higher student boredom was associated with lower subsequent teachers' relational goals. Strengthening relational classroom practices may help reduce boredom and conflict.

Background: Reciprocal emotional transmissions between teachers and students have recently gained more research interest. Teacher–student relationship (TSR) quality is proposed to play an important role, but this transmission pathway lacks empirical evidence. Further, existing studies on this subject tend to focus on positive emotions, while associations of negative emotions are mostly observed within cross‐sectional designs. Aims: This study aims to investigate TSR quality as a transmission factor between teachers' and students' positive and negative emotions. We assume this to be a reciprocal process. Our sample consisted of n = 1638 students ( M _age = 13.95, SD = 0.86) and n = 118 German and mathematics teachers ( M _age = 45.29, SD = 10.68) from n = 86 public secondary school classes in Brandenburg and Mecklenburg‐Western Pomerania, Germany. Methods: Longitudinal questionnaire data were gathered in three waves. The present analyses investigated whether teacher‐reported relationship quality between the teacher and the class explained the effects of teacher‐reported enjoyment of teaching and teachers' anxiety on students' enjoyment and anxiety in class across two subject domains. Results: In mathematics, TSR at T1 was significantly related to teacher emotions at T2, and student emotions at T2 were significantly related to TSR at T3. In German, teacher emotions at T2 were significantly related to TSR at T3. A direct relation between teacher anxiety at T1 and student anxiety at T2 emerged. Conclusion: In our study, we could observe transmission effects, although the pathways differed more than anticipated. Further research incorporating contextual factors like school subject is needed.

Although teacher-student relationships (TSRs) are well-established predictors of students' academic development, little is known about whether adolescents' retrospectively remembered teacher-student relationships from primary school are associated with later relational, motivational, and achievement-related outcomes in secondary school. In addition, most longitudinal studies rely on single-informant data and do not distinguish stable between-person differences from within-person developmental processes. Using four measurement occasions across Grades 8-9 and 9-10 and applying Random-Intercept Cross-Lagged Panel Models (RI-CLPM), this study examined whether students' retrospectively reported primary-school TSR and contemporaneous teacher-rated teacher–class relationships (TCR) were associated with secondary-school students' perceived TSR, learning goal orientation, and competence in mathematics and German literacy while disentangling stable between-person differences from within-person dynamics. The sample comprised 935 students in mathematics classes (MageT1 = 13.9 years, 52.5% female) and 755 students in German classes (MageT1 = 13.9 years, 52.7% female), along with 60 mathematics and 53 German teachers. RI-CLPM results revealed selective long-shadow associations of retrospectively remembered primary-school TSR, which were primarily related to later academic competence rather than subsequent relationship perceptions. In contrast, teacher-rated TCR in Grade 8/9 showed consistent longitudinal associations with students' relational and motivational functioning and, in mathematics, also with academic competence. Most longitudinal associations reflected stable between-person differences, whereas within-person dynamics were comparatively limited and domain-specific.

Adolescence is characterized by heightened sensitivity to social relationships, emotional experiences, and evaluative contexts, making schools a central developmental environment for motivation, learning, and brain maturation. Although educational research has long emphasized the importance of belonging, teacher-student relationships, and socio-emotional learning, and neuroscience has identified adolescence as a sensitive period for social-affective brain systems, these lines of research remain only loosely connected. As a result, socio-emotional school experiences are rarely examined in relation to their underlying neural mechanisms. This article synthesizes findings from the socio-emotional learning factors (SELF) study and introduces an integrative neuroeducational model of the social brain in the classroom. SELF represents an interdisciplinary research approach that combines educational science, psychology, and developmental and social neuroscience to investigate how adolescents’ socio-emotional experiences at school—such as belonging, social exclusion, teacher–student relationships, and socio-motivational orientations—are associated with psychological processes and neural systems supporting self-referential processing, socio-emotional salience, feedback learning, and cognitive control. Building on evidence from both behavioral and neuroimaging research, including longitudinal and cross-sectional studies, the proposed model conceptualizes learning in adolescence as a socially embedded process that is psychologically mediated and reflected in neural processes during a period of heightened developmental sensitivity and plasticity. Rather than assuming linear brain–behavior relationships, the model emphasizes reciprocal interactions between classroom social ecology, motivational and affective processes, and neural mechanisms. By integrating multiple levels of analysis, the SELF neuroeducational model advances a non-reductionist perspective on educational neuroscience. It provides a framework for theory-driven research and highlights socio-emotional classroom conditions—particularly belonging and relational quality—as foundational for adolescents’ motivation, learning, and socio-emotional development.

Theoretical frameworks propose that teacher competence influences teacher behaviors in class, which then affect teacher-student relationships, in turn influencing student outcomes. However, longitudinal empirical evidence of these pathways in the domain of teacher-student relationships is still needed. Against this background, this study investigates how teachers’ relational competence (relational knowledge, relational self-efficacy, relational goals) (Time 1) affects teacher- and student-perceived socio-emotionally supportive behaviors of teachers (Time 2), in turn influencing students’ satisfaction with TSR (Time 3), ultimately shaping students’ subject-specific interest (Time 4). Using data from 60 mathematics classes (1,072 students) and 53 German classes (889 students), multilevel path models revealed that relational knowledge was not significantly related to supportive behaviors. However, teachers’ relational goals positively related to teacher-reported socio-emotionally supportive behaviors in mathematics (β = .51, p < .001) and German (β = .44, p = .01), as well as to student-reported socio-emotionally supportive behaviors in mathematics (β = .38, p = .02). Further, teachers’ relational self-efficacy positively related to teacher-reported socio-emotionally supportive behaviors in mathematics (β = .32, p < .02). For both subjects, higher student-reported socio-emotionally supportive behaviors positively related to subsequent student satisfaction with TSR in mathematics (β = .90, p < .001) and German (β = .60, p = .02), which in turn fostered students’ interest, but only in mathematics (β = .49, p = .002). While confirming theoretically described pathways, our findings particularly highlight the role of teachers’ relational goals and point towards rater- and subject-specific patterns.

Background: Emotional and motivational aspects of teacher–student relationships are central to adolescents' psychological need satisfaction and academic development. However, few longitudinal studies examine how these relational experiences evolve during adolescence or co‐occur with emotional‐motivational functioning. Aims: Drawing on the Self‐Determination Theory and recent models of emotion transmission in classrooms, this study aims to explore how students' emotional and motivational perceptions of teachers co‐occur with psychological need satisfaction in distinct developmental profiles and to examine their transitions over time during adolescence. Sample(s): The sample consisted of 779 German secondary school students (57% female; aged 12–15) from high‐track schools, surveyed in Grade 8 (T1) and Grade 9 (T2). Methods: Latent profile analyses (LPA) and latent transition analyses (LTA) were conducted using six indicators: socio‐emotional teacher–student relationship, perceived teacher motivation (positive/negative), and satisfaction of autonomy, competence and relatedness needs. Gender and academic grades were included as covariates. Results: Three distinct profiles emerged: (1) emotionally disconnected & controlled , (2) emotionally ambivalent & uncertainly self‐determined and (3) emotionally safe & self‐determined . While transitions towards the moderate profile were most common, extreme profiles remained relatively stable. Lower academic performance significantly predicted membership in less favourable profiles. Conclusions: Findings underscore the intertwined nature of emotional relationships and motivational experiences in adolescence. Socio‐emotional teacher support emerged as a key differentiator between profiles. Interventions should target emotionally supportive climates to foster students' psychological need satisfaction and engagement.

Background: Social and emotional experiences play a central role in the daily lives of both students and teachers. Although emotions and social relationships are deeply interwoven—each shaping and reinforcing the other—emotional experiences and social dynamics are still considered largely in isolation, with limited attention being given to contextual, interpersonal and individual factors that influence them. Aims: Accordingly, this paper introduces the Socio‐Emotional School Experiences Adaptation (SESEA) model, a novel theoretical framework that conceptualizes socio‐emotional experiences in educational settings as dynamic, context‐sensitive, adaptive responses to a range of interacting influences. Theoretical Framework: Drawing on theories from psychology, pedagogics, social sciences and medicine—such as Control‐Value Theory, Self‐Determination Theory and the Social–Emotional Adaptation model, the SESEA model identifies four social domains (emotional‐affective, formal‐instrumental, behavioural and competence‐related) through which emotional experiences are structured. These domains are shaped by individual characteristics, needs, appraisals and broader institutional and cultural conditions. Key Propositions: Unlike existing frameworks, SESEA integrates student and teacher perspectives, allowing for a systemic understanding of classroom dynamics. The model provides a conceptual framework that may support theory‐driven research and a basis for the development of innovative empirical approaches, including observational instruments and multi‐method designs. It offers a foundation for examining how socio‐emotional experiences and adaptation unfold over time, across actors and in diverse school contexts. Conclusion: Potential applications include empirical validation and the development of interventions to enhance emotional well‐being, relationships and learning. The SESEA model promotes a holistic understanding of emotional life in education and advances research, practice and policy.

Es besteht ein Forschungsdesiderat hinsichtlich der Frage, wie Lehrkräfte diagnostisch einschätzen und emotional sowie pädagogisch handeln, wenn Schüler*innen mit herausfordernden Situationen konfrontiert sind. Daher wurde ein Fragebogen (DECCS-T) entwickelt, der erfasst, wie Lehrkräfte Schüler*innenemotionen und Überforderung einschätzen, darauf pädagogisch reagieren und welche Emotionen sie bei aggressivem Verhalten von Schüler*innen erleben. Der DECCS-T wurde mit Daten von 257 Lehrkräften von inklusiven Grundschulen, Förder- und Sekundarschulen erstvalidiert. Die explorativen und konfirmatorischen Faktorenanalysen zeigen für Teil I die Faktoren Beurteilung der Überforderung von Schüler*innen in Lern- und Leistungssituationen sowie intendiertes Lehrkrafthandeln in Form instruktionaler und emotionaler Unterstützung. Für Teil II ergeben sich Faktoren zum emotionalen Erleben der Lehrkräfte bei aggressivem Verhalten von Schüler*innen, differenziert nach Valenz der Emotionen und Auslöser.