How mattering-oriented teacher practices foster positive youth development: a practice-oriented conceptual model

Development across childhood and adolescence is shaped by relational contexts that signal whether young people are noticed, valued, and able to contribute meaningfully. In K-12 schools, classrooms are key developmental settings where teachers and peers communicate these signals through everyday interactions. This paper proposes a practice-oriented conceptual model that positions teacher practices as central drivers of students’ classroom-based sense of mattering, defined as feeling valued and having opportunities to add value through meaningful contributions. Drawing on mattering theory and positive youth development (PYD), the model specifies two interrelated pathways: (1) practices that help students feel valued (relational attunement, importance, distinctive recognition, and fair discipline) and (2) practices that help students add value (meaningful roles, contributions to learning, autonomy and voice, and accountability with recognition). Students’ sense of mattering functions as a relational mechanism linking teacher practices to PYD outcomes across social-emotional, behavioral, and academic domains.