Characterizing teacher-perceived and student-perceived teacher–student relationship types and associations with student functioning in students with special educational needs: A cross-sectional study using latent profile analyses

High-quality teacher–student relationships are related to a wide range of positive student outcomes, especially in students with special educational needs. To enable tailored support to help teachers engage in positive relationships with these students, it is important to identify and understand the different types of teacher–student relationships that can emerge in this context. Aims of this study were to identify distinct teacher–student relationship types in special education and characterize these in terms of students' gender, problem behaviour, underachievement and teacher-perceived supporting ability. We explored consensus regarding perceived relationship-quality across teachers and students. In a cross-sectional design, 27 upper elementary special education teachers participated with 340 students (66.8% boys; Mage = 10.83). A latent profile analysis based on teacher reports revealed five relationship types: a close (52.9%), moderate (25.3%), ambivalent (8.8%), distanced (7.4%) and conflicted (5.6%) relationship. Student reports revealed three relationship types: close (65.9%), moderate (25.0%) and conflicted (9.1%). A high-quality, close relationship type was associated with less student problem behaviour and lower teacher-perceived supporting ability than lower-quality relationship types. Teachers and students had different perspectives on their shared relationship. These findings advance our understanding of the complexity of the dyadic teacher–student relationship and may inform interventions to enhance relationship quality.