It’s Not What, It’s How: Quantity of Instructional Behaviors Are Not Necessarily Associated with Perceptions of Rapport in Preservice Music Teachers and Students

The purpose of this study was to investigate perceptions of rapport and the teaching behaviors of preservice teachers in a beginning band setting. We analyzed videos of preservice teacher lessons from an instrumental ensemble field placement for selected teaching behaviors. We completed a narrative contextual summary for each lesson, and both preservice teachers and students completed a measure of instructor-student rapport. While we found no connections between physical proximity, the kind or quantity behaviors exhibited in teaching, and rapport scores, the narrative summary revealed that the quality of relational behaviors, as well as greater instructional competence, seemed to be associated with higher student rapport scores. Thus, we suggest that high quality, genuine relational behaviors are more likely to foster rapport, rather than the mere presence of behaviors associated with rapport. Additionally, high quality instruction was associated with higher perceived rapport, suggesting that clear, goal-oriented teaching is essential to foster rapport with students.