Date on Master's Thesis/Doctoral Dissertation

12-2025

Document Type

Doctoral Dissertation

Degree Name

Ed. D.

Department

Educational Leadership, Evaluation and Organizational Development

Degree Program

Educational Leadership and Organizational Development, EDD

Committee Chair

Umpstead Pratel, Regina

Committee Member

Powers, Deborah

Committee Member

Yarborough, Rachel

Committee Member

White, Aslean

Author's Keywords

Teacher–student relationships; emotional and behavioral disorders; professional learning; appreciative Inquiry; special education; educator development

Abstract

Positive teacher-student relationships are essential to student success yet are often difficult to create and maintain with students identified with Emotional Behavioral Disorders (EBD). Students with EBD frequently struggle with emotional regulation and disruptive behaviors, making relationships and trust both essential and challenging. This study addressed the need for professional learning that equipped educators with strategies to build and maintain positive relationships with students with EBD in secondary school settings. Guided by a participatory action research design, this study used Appreciative Inquiry as a framework for engaging expert secondary teachers from Kentucky in co-constructing professional learning. Appreciative Inquiry focused on strengths and collaboration, providing a structured process for participants to draw on past experiences to identify successful practices, envision possibilities, and design strategies to enhance relationship-building approaches with students with EBD. Data collection methods included Photovoice narratives, facilitator notes/observations, and document analysis. The findings revealed several key themes: active listening and emotional responsiveness, where teachers recognized student behavior as communication; the importance of authentic connections and shared interests; and the need to create safe and empowering classroom environments through co-developed expectations and flexible supports. Teachers also emphasized the value of vulnerability and reflection in refining relationship-building practices, highlighted the role of cultural responsiveness and student voice in shaping classroom culture, and identified collaborative, strengths-based professional learning as essential for sustaining growth. This study contributed to the limited body of research on professional learning focused specifically on teacher-student relationships with students with EBD. It demonstrated the potential of Appreciative Inquiry to generate teacher-driven, contextually relevant professional learning. The implications suggested that districts should prioritize collaborative, strengths-based professional learning models that empower educators to enhance relationship-building strategies and improve outcomes for students with EBD

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