Search

Culturally responsive teaching (CRT) and close teacher-student relationships can promote students' school belongingness, which might be especially important for immigrant and refugee students. Yet, there is limited quantitative evidence how CRT is related with teacher-student relationship and school belongingness. This multi-informant cross-sectional study examined how teacher-student relationship is linked with students' school belongingness, and to what extent it mediates the association between teachers' CRT self-efficacy and school belongingness. Participants were N = 134 elementary school students (44.78 % immigrant and refugee) and N = 30 teachers. Teacher-reported conflictand student-reported closenesswere negatively correlated. Bivariate correlations showed that student-reported closenesswas positively and teacher-reported conflictnegatively related with school belongingness. However, only student-reported relationship significantly explained variance in school belongingness. Teacher-student relationship did not mediate the association between CRT and school belongingness. Exploratory analyses showed that teacher-reported conflictwas negatively linked to school belongingness only among non-immigrant students. Teachers who felt more efficacious in CRT reported more conflictin the relationship with immigrant and refugee students. Findings corroborate the relevance of teacher-student relationship for students' school belongingness. Furthermore, they suggest that teachers should receive trainings in CRT in order to enhance their relationships especially with immigrant and refugee students.

•Economic threat occurs under objectively or subjectively low or endangered SES.•Responses to economic threat target the maintenance of control and self-esteem.•Some responses are problem-focused (target economic misery), some are palliating.•Palliation may be destructive (e.g., displaced intergroup conflict, prejudice).•Palliation may disrupt problem-focused collective action toward equality.