One-Year Follow-Up Effects of the 4Rs+MTP Intervention on Student–Teacher Relationships, Classroom Interactions, and Teachers’ Psychological Well-Being

Teachers play an important role in shaping children's academic, social, and emotional development. Beyond classroom instruction, they help students navigate interpersonal challenges, regulate emotions, and establish supportive relationships. These responsibilities can also create substantial emotional demands. Understanding how teachers' psychological well-being relates to the quality of their interactions with students is therefore important for developing educational environments that support both educators and children.

In the MRI-funded project One Year Follow-up Effects of the 4Rs+MTP Intervention on the Quality of Student-Teacher Relationships, Classroom Interactions, and Teachers’ Psychological Wellbeing, Dr. Joshua Brown (Fordham University) and his doctoral student, Alireza Zareian Jahromi, examine whether improvements associated with a school-based social and emotional learning intervention are sustained after teachers no longer receive active training and coaching. The study investigates the longer-term effects of the 4Rs+MTP program on student–teacher relationships, classroom interaction quality, and teachers' psychological well-being across two consecutive academic years.

Research has identified important associations between teacher well-being and classroom functioning. Teachers experiencing elevated stress or emotional exhaustion may encounter greater difficulties managing classroom interactions, responding sensitively to students' needs, and maintaining supportive relationships. Conversely, positive classroom environments may contribute to more favorable professional experiences for teachers. These associations suggest that teacher well-being and classroom relationships should be considered interconnected aspects of the educational environment.

The 4Rs+MTP intervention addresses these related dimensions by combining two evidence-based approaches: Reading, Writing, Respect and Resolution (4Rs) which integrates social and emotional learning into classroom instruction for grades K-5 (Jones et al, 2011), and My Teaching Partner (MTP) which provides individualized coaching designed to support teachers’ curriculum implementation and strengthen teachers' interactions with students(Pianta et al., 2008). Together, these components seek to support teachers' social and emotional competencies while improving the relational climate of the classroom.

Previous research examining the intervention found promising outcomes during the year in which teachers received training and coaching. Third- and fourth-grade teachers participating in the program reported lower anxiety and stress and demonstrated more emotionally supportive classroom interactions than teachers in comparison schools. However, whether these improvements persist after the intervention concludes remains an important question.

Dr. Brown's MRI-funded project addresses this question by examining outcomes during the school year following implementation, when active intervention support is no longer provided. Understanding the durability of intervention effects is particularly relevant for schools considering how to sustain improvements in classroom relationships and teacher well-being over time.

The study draws on existing data from a large-scale randomized controlled trial conducted across 60 under-resourced public elementary schools in New York City. The original trial included two cohorts of schools followed over two consecutive academic years. The current project focuses on 118 third-grade teachers assessed at four time points: fall and spring of the intervention year, followed by fall and spring of the subsequent school year.

This longitudinal design allows the researchers to examine patterns of change across both the active intervention and follow-up periods. By comparing teachers in schools assigned to 4Rs+MTP with those in comparison schools, the study will investigate whether differences in psychological well-being, student–teacher relationships, and classroom interactions remain evident after training and coaching have ended.

One area of investigation concerns student–teacher relationship quality. Researchers will examine teachers' reports of closeness and conflict with students, assessing whether the intervention is associated with sustained differences in supportive relationships and interpersonal difficulties within classrooms.

Classroom interaction quality will also be evaluated using assessments conducted by independent observers. These observations address three dimensions: emotional support, classroom organization, and instructional support. Emotional support includes warmth, sensitivity, and responsiveness in teacher–student interactions. Classroom organization concerns the management of behavior and learning routines, while instructional support reflects the quality of teaching practices and opportunities for student engagement.

The project will also examine teachers' psychological well-being, including emotional exhaustion, personal accomplishment, and positive and negative emotional experiences. Emotional exhaustion captures feelings of depletion associated with professional demands, while personal accomplishment reflects teachers' sense of competence and effectiveness in their work.

By examining both distress-related and positive dimensions of psychological functioning, the researchers seek to understand whether the intervention's longer-term associations extend beyond reductions in stress. Teachers' experiences of professional satisfaction, emotional well-being, and effectiveness may be relevant to how they engage with students and manage classroom relationships.

The analyses will assess whether teachers who participated in 4Rs+MTP demonstrate more favorable outcomes at both assessment points during the follow-up year than those in comparison schools. Researchers will also examine whether differences between groups emerge, strengthen, diminish, or remain stable across the four assessment periods across two school years.

The findings may help clarify which aspects of teacher well-being and classroom functioning are most likely to be maintained following relationship-focused professional development. If improvements persist, the results could provide evidence supporting the longer-term value of integrating social and emotional learning with individualized coaching. If some effects diminish, the findings may identify areas in which continued support or additional training could be beneficial.

Although the study is not designed to establish every mechanism linking teacher well-being and classroom relationships, it aims to provide greater understanding of how these dimensions develop together over time. Teachers' emotional experiences may influence their interactions with students, while the quality of classroom relationships may also shape teachers' professional functioning.

By examining the durability of changes in teacher well-being and classroom interactions, this MRI-funded project advances a relational understanding of educational environments. It recognizes that supportive classrooms emerge through ongoing interactions between teachers and students and investigates whether interventions targeting these processes can produce improvements that extend beyond the period of active implementation.

Jones, S. M., Brown, J. L., & Aber, J. (2011). Two-year impacts of a universal school-based social-emotional and literacy intervention: an experiment in translational developmental research. Child Development, 82, 533–554. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01560.x

Pianta, R. C., Mashburn, A. J., Downer, J. T., Hamre, B. K., & Justice, L. (2008). Effects of web-mediated professional development resources on teacher–child interactions in pre-kindergarten classrooms. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 23, 431–451. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2008.02.001