Development of Cohesion and Relatedness in the Classroom to Optimize Learning Processes in the Educational Setting

Cohesion and social relationships have prompted research interest in various contexts. However, whereas cohesion had received limited attention in the educational setting, relatedness needs satisfaction from the self-determination theory has been more thoroughly investigated (Ryan & Deci, 2017). Specifically, relatedness needs satisfaction can determine cognitive, behavioral, and affective consequences, such as academic performance, during the learning process (Vasconcellos et al., 2020). Furthermore, some authors have considered that cohesion–cooperation in small workgroups of students affects academic achievement (e.g., Boyle, 2010), but they did not focus on class cohesion itself. However, students' perceptions that they and their classmates are challenged to achieve the same goals and their feeling of being united in this effort appear to be an essential determinant in learning processes. In addition, students' feeling that they have optimal interactions in class, both with the teacher and with classmates, can help to improve their engagement and motivation in classes, as they can turn to them at any time during the teaching–learning process. Thus, the teacher's relatedness and class cohesion support can be relevant to learning new knowledge and skills.