Student–teacher relational entitlement and its association with students' and teachers' characteristics

Abstract

Introduction

One's sense of entitlement—the subjective perception of what one deserves from another person—can contribute to social attitudes and behaviour in positive or negative ways, depending on the way in which one construes this subjective sense. Previous work has examined how adolescents' sense of entitlement towards their parents contributes positively or negatively to their well-being. In this study, we extend this line of research and focus on adolescents' sense of entitlement towards another important authority figure—teachers, while examining its associations with both students' and teachers' characteristics and implications for students' functioning at school.

Method

We adapted the Adolescents' Sense of Relational Entitlement towards Parents scale to tap students' relational entitlement towards their teachers. We then examined the factor structure of the adapted scale and its associations with students' and teachers' relevant psychological measures in three samples (N = 1588).

Results

Findings confirmed the three-factor structure of student–teacher entitlement. Studies 2–3 also revealed that students' sense of entitlement was associated with both students' variables (e.g., psychological well-being, self-esteem, perceptions of teachers' acceptance of them and students' school engagement) and teachers' emotional difficulties. Study 3's findings indicated that students' sense of entitlement was associated with their school engagement.

Conclusion

Students' sense of entitlement towards teachers seems to be associated with teachers' emotional makeup and attitudes towards students. In addition, this subjective sense is associated with students' school engagement. These findings suggest that there is theoretical value and practical implications for further unpacking both teachers' and students' factors associated with students' sense of entitlement and examining its association with academic functioning at school.