On the 6th of July 2024, the Portuguese Let’s Care team participated in the 45th Annual International School Psychology Conference in Riga (Latvia). They presented results from data with teachers and parents on facilitators and barriers to safe teaching.
Results showed that teachers’ relationship strategies facilitate the development of safe teaching: know students, show concern for students and being a safe haven for students. Pedagogical strategies such as tailoring strategies to each student/class were also mentioned as facilitators. Likewise, parents mentioned teaching strategies which facilitate safe teaching, mainly the use of positive encouragement and reinforcement and teachers’ dedication to create a relationship with students.
On the other hand, teachers’ lack of time to build relationships with students, their bureaucratical load and low well-being were pointed out as barriers to safe teaching. One main conclusion is that both teachers and parents agreed that the teachers-students bond is very important but must be intentionally developed.
