A preliminary investigation of collective teacher efficacy and student hope: Understanding the role of student-teacher relationships

Although researchers have documented the importance of school culture and the student-teacher relationship for academic success, limited work addresses how the collective efficacy of teachers within a school and student-teacher relationships may interact to predict student cognitive-motivational skills such as hope. Because hope is influential to students’ academic success, the current study investigated these relations among middle school students (n = 297; 47% female; 56% White) and their homeroom teachers (n = 17; 88% female; 71% White). Results from a cross-level interaction model showed positive direct effects from collective teacher efficacy and student-teacher relationship to student hope, and an interaction effect; collective efficacy was related to higher student hope under the condition of a higher-quality student-teacher relationship. Findings highlight the relations of teacher-level factors and student hope during middle school, a critically important period for academic development. Further, findings highlight how addressing school culture, and individual-level training for teachers, may be important avenues for promoting student hope.