The Teacher's Communication Style and its Relationship with Students' Self-Esteem in Primary School Students

Abstract

Teacher communication plays a fundamental role in shaping students' learning experiences, socio-emotional development, and self-esteem. However, limited studies have comprehensively examined the relationship between teachers' communication styles, pedagogical orientation, students' personal characteristics, and the development of teachers' communicative competence. Therefore, this study aimed to analyze the relationship between teachers' communication styles, pedagogical orientation, and primary school students' self-esteem, as well as to develop a teacher communicative competence program. This study employed a quantitative descriptive approach involving 73 primary school teachers and 1,710 students from five educational institutions in Naberezhnye Chelny. Data were collected using the SPOOL instrument, the Accent 2-90 personality inventory, the Dembo–Rubinstein Self-Assessment Scale, and the Lüscher Color Test. The data were analyzed using descriptive statistics and correlation analysis. The findings revealed significant differences in teachers' pedagogical orientation according to communication style (p < 0.01). Teachers' communication styles were also associated with age, teaching experience, and professional characteristics. Furthermore, students taught by teachers with different communication styles demonstrated distinct psychological characteristics and levels of self-esteem. Based on these findings, a Teacher Communicative Competence Program was developed. The study concludes that strengthening teachers' communicative competence through systematic training can enhance teacher–student interactions and support students' socio-emotional development in primary education.