Exploring the Teacher Behaviors that Influence High School Student’s Class Participation in the UAE

Teachers are entrusted with the responsibility of ensuring teaching and learning takes place in the classroom; several challenges exist, however, that influence the degree to which teachers may find success in teaching and learning. This phenomenological case-study explored the perceptions of six high school science teachers concerning the teacher behaviors that influence high school student’s classroom participation within the Emirati private educational system. Semi-structured interviews were conducted with purposefully sampled participants; data was analyzed via content analysis, which employed utilized multiple stages of coding: open, axial, and thematic. The findings of this research resulted in three main themes: (1) Teachers who model positive behaviors increase student’s classroom participation; (2) An empathetic understanding of teachers-needs would lead to more effective teacher support; and (3) Field experience coupled with effective support facilitates positive perceptions of student-teacher relationship. The findings of this research indicate a strong need for active teacher-coaching and teacher-mentoring, rather than passive, primarily rote, teacher training programs that are common in schools as the primary form of professional development. It also demonstrates the need for school leaders and teachers to foster meaningful, positive relationships with students so as to improve performance. This research paper further contributes to closing the literature gap on Student-Teacher (S-T) relationships by providing new knowledge concerning the lived-experiences of high school science teachers in fostering meaningful S-T relationships.