Inhibitory Control, Student-Teacher Relationships, and Expulsion Risk in Preschools: An Indirect Effects Path Analysis.

Abstract

Identifying factors related to expulsion risk is of great need due to the high and disparate rates of young children routinely excluded from preschool classrooms. This study aimed to explore the pathways to expulsion risk among a sample of 88 preschool children from 22 Head Start classrooms. Data were collected on children’s inhibitory control using the Child Behavior Questionnaire, the closeness subscale of the Student–Teacher Relationship Scale, and on children’s overall expulsion risk using the Preschool Expulsion Risk Measure. Direct pathways from children’s inhibitory control and student–teacher closeness to expulsion risk were significant. Results indicated that student–teacher closeness mediated the relationship between children’s inhibitory control and expulsion risk, indicating the importance of supporting positive relationships in preschool classrooms to disrupt pathways to expulsion. Implications for practices and future research to prevent expulsion are discussed.