Developing Positive Relationships: Strategies for Building Strong Teacher/Student Relationships

Although most teachers would acknowledge the impact relationships with their students have on the environmental climate in their gymnasium, this topic has been scarcely discussed. To date, there are few papers focusing on tangible strategies for developing, building, and enhancing the relationship between physical educators and their students. This article outlines and provides tangible examples for how to initiate closeness and avoid conflict within teacher/student relationships, specific to physical education and other sporting contexts. Effective practical strategies are presented, including setting high expectations for youth, fostering distinctiveness, using inclusive language, and speaking from one's own experiences. In all, these best practices are applicable for the development of teacher/student relationships in any setting, but particularly physical education or a variety of other sport settings.