Findings
Following review of the literature it is safe to conclude that teachers actively cultivating relationships with their students does result in a myriad of positive benefits for all students. The positive benefits resulting may be found here.
Interestingly, for some student groups, relationship building may yield a specific, more critical benefit, or be more beneficial to a greater degree. Students who are identified as at-risk, minority students, and disadvantaged students are significantly more assisted by positive benefits in that they can prevent these students from being ‘pushed out’ of the education system; also referred to as dropping out (Davis and Dupper 186). Muller found that a caring student-teacher relationship, illustrated by students who expressed interest in the individual, set expectations for success, listened, and praised student effort, had a greater impact on students who were identified as at-risk, than students who were not (Muller 241). These behaviours by teachers are the same as they would do for other students, but in particular at-risk youth experienced a greater benefit. Following from the research, what can be identify as primary levels of benefits, ego support, communication ect., work as supporting factors for the secondary benefit of preventing the pushing out of at-risk youth.