Dissertation Proposal Announcement Ed.D. Program: Jude Yasin “Building Bridges: A Qualitative Study of Teacher-Student Relationships in Dubai”

Dubai’s private schools serve culturally, linguistically and nationally diverse student populations, creating educational environments in which teacher-student relationships develop across varied backgrounds, experiences and expectations. Although research has established an association between positive teacher-student relationships and students’ sense of belonging, less is known about how these relationships are experienced and interpreted within international private-school contexts characterized by cultural diversity and transience. This qualitative study examines how teacher-student relationships shape high school students’ sense of belonging in American-curriculum private schools in Dubai. Specifically, the study explores the relational qualities and practices teachers and students identify as meaningful, how students experience these relationships in relation to belonging and how student and teacher perspectives on relationship-building converge or differ. The study is guided by Pianta’s (1999) framework of teacher-student relationships and Strayhorn’s (2019) framework of sense of belonging, which together provide a lens for examining how relational experiences develop and…