The relationship between teacher talk and students’ academic achievement: A meta-analysis

Teacher talk is an integral part of classroom dialogue. However, emerging empirical research has shown inconsistent correlations between specific teacher talk moves (TTMs) and student achievement, motivating us to synthesise previous results to provide robust evidence. Using three-level meta-analytic techniques, this study examined the associations between teacher talk (dialogic and monologic orientations), specific TTMs, and student achievement in K–12 classrooms. Based on a synthesis of 16 studies with 51 effect sizes, we found a significant positive correlation between teacher talk and student achievement (r = .19). For the two orientations of teacher talk, dialogic teacher talk was moderately correlated with student achievement (r = .25), whereas monologic teacher talk was not significantly related to student achievement (r = .05). In terms of specific dialogic TTMs, analyses revealed significant and moderate associations of inviting students to share ideas and asking uptake questions with student achievement (r = .40 and r = .26, respectively), whereas high-quality feedback from teachers was not significantly related to student achievement (r = .26). Furthermore, the relationship between dialogic teacher talk and student achievement was mediated by student engagement, but not moderated by geographical region, grade level, achievement domain, or measure of teacher talk. This study sheds light on the importance of dialogic pedagogical approaches in relation to academic achievement, as well as the centrality of teachers’ encouragement of students to share, articulate, and co-construct ideas in creating dialogic educational environments. •This meta-analysis investigates the relationship between teacher talk and student achievement.•Monologic teacher talk was not significantly associated with student achievement.•Inviting students to share ideas was positively related to student achievement.•Teachers' use of uptake questions demonstrated a positive association with student achievement.•Student engagement was found to be a significant mediator in the relationship between teacher talk and student achievement.