The Role of Teachers in Students’ Social Inclusion in the Classroom

The social inclusion of children and adolescents into peer groups is an important predictor for their academic, social, and psychological development. The question how teachers can positively contribute to their students' social inclusion is therefore highly relevant. How do teachers' interactions and relationships with specific students influence these students' social position in the classroom? Which teacher behaviors contribute to positive or negative peer group dynamics? Which mechanisms explain these teacher influences? How can teacher training effectively prepare teachers to improve classroom social relationships?

The goal of this Research Topic is to present innovative research on teacher influences on students' social inclusion.

Social inclusion covers all aspects of peer relationships and peer group dynamics, such as inclusive and exclusive behaviors, peer acceptance and popularity, friendships, and intergroup relationships. Social inclusion may also refer to classroom-level constructs, such as classroom norms and social hierarchies. Classroom teaching practices that are investigated in terms of their effects on social inclusion may include but are not limited to:

- Emotional quality of student-teacher interactions
- Teachers' relationship quality with specific students or student groups
- Specific teacher behaviors such as praise or criticism
- Teachers' knowledge and attitudes regarding group dynamics and strategies to improve social inclusion
- General teaching strategies and formats (e.g., cooperative learning, social-cognitive training)

We are interested in receiving various article types such as original empirical papers, systematic reviews or theoretical articles. We also consider articles that express critical perspectives, new arguments and hypotheses or innovative curricular and instructional ideas. We welcome experimental and field studies and encourage the submission of manuscripts based on multi-informant approaches and longitudinal designs. Manuscripts can also focus on intervention research or the evaluation of innovative teacher education programs that aim to build up teachers' competences to promote peer inclusion (e.g., training based on video analyses, coaching or mentoring). We particularly encourage manuscripts that explore teacher influences on social inclusion of students at risk for peer rejection (e.g., students with special educational needs or students from cultural or ethnic minorities).