The role of teacher-student relationship on performance in mathematics of the eleventh graders in the Cape Coast metropolis: Critical friendship perspective

Drawing on Critical Friendship as a theoretical base, an investigation was carried out to find out what components of teacher-student relationship would make a difference in the performance in mathematics of the eleventh graders in the Cape Coast Metropolis. A sample size of 2,575 students was randomly chosen to fill a questionnaire on teacher-student relationship and write an achievement test in mathematics. Findings revealed that trust, fear and lack of respect negligibly and statistically correlated with achievement scores; unhealthy context and challenge correlated negligibly (but not statistically); while support did not correlate. The sub-constructs jointly shared a variance of approximately 8% with achievement scores. With a focus on developing critical minds and democratic future leaders, there is a need for pre-service and in-service training on the teacher-student relationship. Awareness about the teacher-student relationship in the learning of mathematics may be created through debates among students in schools.