Studies have long emphasized the importance of the student-teacher relationship for the social adjustment, academic achievement, and overall wellbeing of students and pupils – particularly for those with a migration background (Bosman et al., 2018; Roorda et al., 2011; Suldo et al., 2009). Yet, this relationship is often under considerable strain for students with a migration background, as overall they assess the student-teacher relationship to be more negative (Agirdag et al., 2012). However, although classroom settings across Europe are becoming increasingly diverse, the proportion of teachers with ethnic minority background remains very limited (Overheid, 2021) Furthermore, teachers indicate that they often feel ill-prepared in building a strong relationship to their ethnic minority background pupils (Talis 2018). 

Researchers have suggested that this incongruence in teachers’ and students’ ethnic background can negatively affect the student-teacher relationship (Thijs et al., 2012, 2018; van den Bergh et al., 2010). Studies on ‘ethnic congruence’ between students and teachers, or, put differently, studies researching the effect of having a teacher with a similar ethnic background, show a mixed image and many questions remain. First, we focus on the experiences of elementary school pupils with a migration background. Second, next to the mainstream schools there is a wide range of supplementary schooling. In these supplementary schools, which are organized by minority communities in the weekend, and which are widely attended by youth with migration background, minorized pupils usually share their ethnic-cultural backgrounds with the teachers. Here, we can explore the experience of minoritized children in varying educational contexts instead of comparing their experiences to those of majority peers. This enables us to explore if (and if so, how) ethnic congruence plays a role and how children perceive their relations with teachers in both contexts.

To ensure an extensive understanding of this relationship we consider insights from two different academic disciplines/domains. We build on social psychology research into the affective aspects of student-teacher relationships, exploring the notions of emotional bonding and security (Koomen & Jellesma, 2015). In addition, we rely on educational research emphasizing the academic aspects of the student teacher relationship, and we focus on the academic support and confirmation that pupils to receive from their teachers (Agirdag et al., 2012; Reddy et al., 2003). We understand the STR as two-dimensional, with an affective and an academic dimension and within these two dimensions we differentiate four characteristics that describe the quality of the STR from the students’ perspective: (1) closeness and emotional support, (2) conflict and negative experiences, both related to the affective dimension, and (3) academic support, and (4) teacher affirmation, both related to the academic dimension of teacher support. 

In the European context there has not been a lot of research which focuses on the perception of minoritized pupils and the relationship to their teachers. Supplementary schools pose a unique to compare how the pupils view these relationships in one context where ethnic congruence is prevalent and one where it is not. These findings are of importance to practitioners and policy makers who aim to work at bettering minoritized pupils’ STR.

We conducted semi structured (group) interviews with 29 students in total. The students were free to decide to come to the interview alone, or together. Most of the students came in pairs, some came alone and sometimes three students came together. That the students could decide to take part and in which constellation was important to ensure that they would feel most comfortable. These type of openended interviews are best suited for explorative approach which includes the students’ nuanced perceptions. In working with minoritized pupils who have varying Dutch (reading) skills, an explorative qualitative approach is the most inclusive. The students were aged between 9 and 13 and all went to a regular Flemish elementary school throughout the week. Some students were relatively new to the supplementary school and other had been coming for years. In the interviews the students were asked about their experiences and their thoughts about teachers both in the supplementary and the mainstream school. The interviewer queued the students with different questions, asking about the affective as well as academic side of the relationship to their teachers. The interviews were transcribed and anonymized. Coding tree For the data analysis we used codebook thematic analysis (Miles and Haberman, 1994). We constructed our codebook deductively building on our theoretical framework. We distinguished two affective and two academic characteristics of the STR. The students talked about their perception of the STR both in their mainstream Flemish schools and their supplementary schools. Reading and analyzing the interviews we deduced different themes within these four codes which we then added as subcodes. Affective: The student reflects on their affective relationship to the teacher Closeness and emotional support: The student talks about their relationship to the teacher relating to security and the support they receive from their teacher Negative experiences and conflict: The student recounts negative experiences or conflicts with their teacher. The student reflects on the ways in which the teacher responded in such situations Academic: The student reflects on their academic relationship to their teacher/ relating to the role of the teacher as the monitor of their academic development Academic support: The student talks about the ways in which the teacher (does not) help them to achieve their goals and tasks (positive/negative). Teacher affirmation: The student reflects on the academic expectations their teachers hold for them and the feedback they receive (positive/negative).

To our surprise we found that the pupils in our study did not raise ethnicity or cultural background once when assessing the relationship to their teachers. Even these young children were able to pinpoint different aspects of the relationship that were important to them. Children emphasized emotional support and closeness for the quality of their relationships. Notably, the pupils we spoke to indicated that teachers in the mainstream school seemed less available. This impacted the assessment of the relationship both affectively and academically. Because of this, pupils felt that teachers in mainstream schools would not intervene in conflict situations which led to an overall more unpleasant atmosphere. Reflecting upon the academic support they receive from their teachers, pupils also differentiated between the two contexts. With teachers in the mainstream school being less approachable to ask for help whereas the supplementary schoolteachers would offer more help when needed. Another important finding is the keen awareness of pupils of the (time) pressures teachers are often burdened by. Even young children are perceptive to this and are at the same time able to discuss what impact this has on them but also on the affective and academic support they receive from teachers. One way to ease the pressure on teachers could be to have smaller classes and especially in urban areas with a very diverse student population. Research indicates that minority students especially could profit from smaller classes (Rouse, 2005) and it would confront some of the worries that arose during our research.

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