Date of Award

2026

Document Type

Dissertation

Degree Name

Psychology (Ph.D.)

Department

Psychology

First Advisor

Lauren Moskowitz

Second Advisor

Mark Terjesen

Third Advisor

Imad Zaheer

Abstract

Given the substantial amount of time that children spend in the classroom each day, student-teacher relationships (STRs) play a critical role in students’ social-emotional development and academic achievement (Breeman et al., 2015). Research indicates, however, that students on the autism spectrum tend to have STRs characterized by less closeness and greater conflict, often due to their social-communication differences and behavioral challenges (Losh et al., 2022). Teacher-level factors, including job stress and burnout, also shape teachers’ appraisals of students and their subsequent coping strategies (Obiweluozo et al., 2021), thereby influencing STRs. Although STRs have been widely examined among neurotypical students and in special education contexts, there is limited research on the relationships between teachers and autistic students in general education settings, despite this being the setting where the majority of autistic students are educated. Moreover, research suggests that STRs between teachers and autistic students do not reliably improve when teacher training focuses solely on autism knowledge, as the way teachers think and feel about their students may not change (Corona et al., 2017). Using an AB single-case design and pre-test/post-test design, this study examined whether a brief teacher training intervention was associated with improvements in teacher appraisals, teacher self-efficacy, teacher burnout, student externalizing behavior, and STR quality. The intervention combined a 2.5-hour positive behavior support (PBS) group training with four, 45-minute individual training sessions focused on cognitive behavioral therapy (CBT) and mindfulness strategies. Findings indicated improvement in teacher self-efficacy and reductions in teachers’ perceived conflict within the STR, with variable changes observed in teacher appraisals and student externalizing behavior. No consistent changes were observed in teacher burnout or students’ perceptions of the STR.

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