انطباق و اعتباریابی مقیاس رابطه دانش‌آموز- معلم برای دانش‌آموزان نوجوان ایرانی

This study adapted and validated the revised Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) for Iranian adolescent students. Convenience sampling was used for this quantitative survey to select 343 junior high school teachers (68% female) from Tehran and Yazd during the 2023-2024 academic year. After teacher interviews and expert feedback, items were revised, and eight new items were added to assess the dependency subscale. Data were collected using the adapted STRS, the Maslach Burnout Inventory, and the Mindfulness in Teaching Scale. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses supported the three-factor structure of closeness, conflict, and dependency. Cronbach's alpha and McDonald’s omega for these dimensions indicated strong internal consistency, and the significant correlations with the burnout and mindfulness measures further supported the scale’s validity. Unlike findings from studies on Western culture, the dependency subscale showed positive correlations with closeness and negative correlations with conflict. Adapted STRS is a reliable tool for assessing student-teacher relationships among Iranian adolescents.
Introduction
The student-teacher relationship is a crucial factor influencing students' academic, emotional, and social development. Numerous studies have shown that positive, supportive student-teacher relationships are associated with enhanced academic motivation, improved academic performance, and reduced behavioral problems in the students (Emslander et al., 2023). Conversely, conflictual relationships can increase stress, lead to academic decline, and contribute to emotional issues (Wu & Zhang, 2022). According to the attachment theory, these relationships comprise three dimensions: Closeness, conflict, and dependency (Verschueren & Koomen, 2021). The revised version of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) is a validated tool based on the attachment theory, designed to assess the quality of these relationships within a Western cultural framework, specifically for preschool and elementary school students (Koomen et al., 2012). However, empirical studies suggest that the dimensions of attachment, particularly dependency, are influenced by cultural differences; in Western individualistic cultures, dependency is often viewed as an obstacle to student independence, whereas in collectivist cultures, such as that of Iran, mutual dependency is positively valued (Gregoriadis et al., 2021). These cultural differences affect the factorial structure of the STRS (Vahidi et al., 2022). Furthermore, the nature of the items in the revised STRS suggests that they may not be suitable for assessing relationships among adolescent students undergoing rapid changes in cognitive, social, and emotional development (Telzer et al., 2021). The present study aims to examine and culturally and developmentally adapt the revised STRS by Koomen et al. (2012) for Iranian adolescent students. The central hypothesis of this research posits that the modified version of the scale will be a valid tool for assessing the quality of student-teacher relationships among Iranian adolescents. It is anticipated that this study's findings will contribute to enhancing educational quality and improving the psychological well-being of Iranian adolescent students.
Methodology
This study aimed to investigate the quality of student-teacher relationships among Iranian adolescents, focusing on validating an adapted version of STRS. A quantitative survey method was utilized to achieve this objective. The study population consisted of all junior high school teachers in the cities of Tehran and Yazd during the 2023-2024 academic year. Using convenience sampling, 343 teachers (68% female) from ten schools in Tehran and Yazd were selected as the statistical sample. The participating teachers ranged in age from 21 to 50 years (mean age of 33 years), with teaching experience varying from one to 25 years (mean of 10.6 years). The students taught by these teachers were between 13 and 16 years old.
In the first phase, the revised version of the STRS, developed by Koomen et al. (2012), was culturally adapted for Iranian adolescent students using the back-translation method and reviewed by teachers and experts to ensure cultural and developmental appropriateness. After eliminating and revising inappropriate items, 28 final items were selected for assessing the student-teacher relationship. This version was evaluated in a preliminary study involving 30 teachers, demonstrating satisfactory validity and reliability. In the second phase, data were collected by the adapted STRS, the Maslach Burnout Inventory (De Beer et al., 2024), and the Mindfulness in Teaching Scale by Frank et al. (2016). Teachers completed the adapted STRS for two of their students. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses were conducted using SPSS26 and AMOS26 to analyze the data and assess the validity and reliability of the adapted scale.
Results
In this study, after conducting the Kaiser-Meyer-Olkin (KMO) test of sample adequacy and Bartlett's test of sphericity on the collected data, the KMO value was found to be 0.85, indicating that the data were suitable for factor analysis (χ² = 1852.34, p < 0.001). Bartlett's test was also significant, suggesting that the data were appropriate for exploratory factor analysis (EFA). The EFA, using the principal component method and varimax rotation, revealed that the adapted version of the scale consisted of three main factors: Closeness, conflict, and dependency, which together accounted for 69.45% of the total variance. All items had factor loadings above 0.40, and no items were excluded. The Eigenvalues for the closeness, conflict, and dependency factors were 5.61 (28.45% of the total variance), 4.32 (21.60% of the total variance), and 3.88 (19.40% of the total variance), respectively (see Table 1).
The skewness and kurtosis statistics indicated that the data were normally distributed, and the assumption of multicollinearity was confirmed by tolerance values greater than 0.10 and VIF values less than 3. To assess the model fit, the three-factor structure of the scale was compared with a one-factor model and an independence model. The results showed that the three-factor model with acceptable fit indices had a better fit with the data. The instrument's reliability was evaluated using both Cronbach's alpha and McDonald's omega, with all the values indicating acceptable reliability. Additionally, the factor loadings for each item were statistically significant (p < 0.001). Finally, the results of the correlation analysis between the scale's dimensions and the scales of teacher burnout and mindfulness (Table 2) indicated that a close relationship between teacher and student was associated with reduced burnout and increased mindfulness in teaching. In contrast, conflict was linked to increased burnout and reduced mindfulness. Dependency also showed a significant correlation with the burnout and mindfulness scales, although these correlations were weaker than those obtained for the other two dimensions.
Discussion and conclusion
This study validated the adapted Student-Teacher Relationship Scale, demonstrating its effectiveness in assessing the quality of relationships among adolescent Iranian students. The findings showed that, compared to Western cultural contexts, the dependency subscale exhibited a positive correlation with closeness and a negative correlation with conflict. Nevertheless, the weak strength of these correlations highlights the challenge of measuring dependency across different cultural contexts, underscoring the importance of using culturally sensitive tools to better understand dependency's nuances. Additionally, teachers with lower burnout and higher mindfulness were found to have stronger relationships with their students. Future studies should employ larger, more random samples and explore gender invariance. Revising the scale's items may also enhance its relevance for older high school students in Iran. This adapted version furnishes policymakers, researchers, and teachers with developing interventions to improve student-teacher relationships, enhance the quality of education, and promote students' psychological well-being.