| Problem. Nonclassroom teacher-student relationships were studied in the secondary-school setting with regard to their occurrence; their perceived value, adequacy, and effects; their preferred forms or types; and the perceived barriers to teacher-student association.; Method. This was a descriptive study employing survey research. A 53-item questionnaire was completed by 671 senior students, full-time teachers, and principals in the eleven SDA academies and two boarding academies in the Northern and Central California Conferences. The data from the questionnaires were summarized--totaling responses and calculating percentages, means, and standard deviations. Comparisons were made and some differences were evaluated by applying t tests, accepting .05 as the level of significance.; Findings. The data revealed that although students do perceive their teachers as involved in nonclassroom teacher-student activities, teachers saw themselves as more involved outside the classroom than did their students.; Students, teachers, and principals rated nonclassroom contact as important, with teachers placing it higher in value than did students, as did females over males, high GPA students over low, and boarding- over day-school students.; Students were moderately to well-satisfied with the quantity and quality of their nonclass relationships. Teachers were more satisfied than students.; All groups surveyed agreed that students' receptivity to learning opportunities was increased by pleasant nonclassroom teacher-student contact.; Certain types of contact with teachers were valued more highly than others. Ranking high were: Be easily available just to talk even when the student has no special problem; be available to help students with assignments; invite students to their homes; and often smile at or greet students. Some differences between boarding- and day-student preferences appeared.; The main barriers to nonclassroom involvement perceived by students were teacher partiality, busyness, and fear of discipline breakdown.; Conclusions and Recommendations. Teachers disliked outside the classroom are perceived as a deterrent to learning; therefore pleasant nonclassroom teacher-student interaction should be seen as essential at all levels of education; teachers should be expected to have yearly objectives for nonclassroom involvement; and provision should be made in the teacher's schedule for these out-of-class activities. |
