High-Expectations Relationships provides educators with a framework to build strong relationships and collaborative partnerships across the school community that provide the safe spaces to hold challenging conversations about truly enacting high expectations.
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Stronger Smarter alumni tell us that one of the most important concepts they take away from the Stronger Smarter Leadership Program is High-Expectations Relationships. It is a transformative approach that can be easily implemented in classrooms and across schools.
High-Expectations Relationships are built on the belief that every student is capable of success when supported through respectful, trusting, and empowering relationships. While high expectations are widely acknowledged as essential for student success, they are often undermined by unconscious biases, deficit discourses, and historical conditioning. High-Expectations Relationships goes beyond simply setting high academic standards—it involves actively fostering a classroom culture where students feel valued, understood, and motivated. It reframes high expectations through a relational lens.
High-Expectations Relationships challenge educators to move away from deficit-based assumptions and instead engage with students in ways that affirm their identity and potential. It’s about doing things with students, not to them, and creating relational spaces that support both wellbeing and achievement.
Our High-Expectations Relationships position paper and journal article provide a starting point to spark conversations.
Our alumni tell us that when they implement High-Expectations Relationships in their classrooms, students are more likely to engage deeply, take academic risks, and persist through challenges. High-Expectations Relationships help educators understand how personal beliefs and assumptions might impact on interactions with others in the classroom, the staffroom and the school community. They combine the belief of high expectations with the behaviours and dispositions needed to create a high-expectations learning environment.
Enacting High-Expectations Relationships helps dismantle barriers created by low expectations. By combining high expectations with genuine care, educators foster resilience, confidence, and a sense of belonging in their students. Over time, this leads to improved learning outcomes, stronger classroom cohesion, and a more inclusive school culture.
The language of High-Expectations Relationships helps schools to build a shared understanding of high expectations and the rejection of deficit discourses. High-Expectations Relationships can strengthen a collegial staff culture, and community engagement.
A key element of High-Expectations Relationships is the ability to be both firm and fair. This means maintaining high standards for behaviour and learning while treating students with respect, empathy, and consistency. Being firm involves setting clear boundaries, expectations, and consequences. Being fair means applying these standards equitably and with understanding of each student’s context.
When teachers are firm and fair, students feel safe and respected. They know what is expected of them and trust that their teacher will support them to meet those expectations. This balance helps prevent classroom issues from escalating and fosters a culture of accountability and care. It’s not about being strict or lenient—it’s about being consistent, relational, and committed to every student’s success.
Implementing High-Expectations Relationships starts with reflection where educators are encouraged to examine their own assumptions, language, and behaviours to ensure they’re fostering a strength-based environment. If we are asking students to ‘fit in’ to the values and strengths defined by our western education system, we may miss the strengths that First Nations students bring to the classroom. High-Expectations Relationships asks teachers to change this around. Ensuring that every student has the same opportunities to learn involves delving delve deep to recognise the cultural lenses we all bring to the classroom.
Moving away from the western lens means deep listening to understand how each student is different, how they see the world and how they like to learn. This provides the opportunity to recognise and value the different knowledges, strengths and ways of being that all students bring.
Building High-Expectations Relationships takes time, but the long-term benefits are significant. Students thrive when they know their teachers believe in them—and when that belief is backed by consistent support and high expectations.
Read our Blogs and Alumni stories on High-Expectations Relationships
