Abstract
Recent research regarding the quality of relationships in primary classrooms has focused largely on the enhancement and development of cognitive skills. The study reported here focused on a range of social and affective outcomes with the intention of broadening our understanding of the classroom as an interactive system, from the child's perspective. This paper provides empirical evidence on children's perceptions at Key Stage 2 (pupil age 7-11 years) of their relationships with teachers, other adults and children. Data were collected via an attitudinal questionnaire survey in nine primary schools in England. Results indicate that, in addition to the development of social skills, children also valued academic confidence, learning and the involvement of their parents in homework, and that these were associated with the interactions and routines established within the primary classroom settings. Some variations in terms of pupil age, teacher career phase, and the socio-economic context of the school were identified; however, the importance of the relationship between pupil and teacher remained consistent across schools.
Highlights
As children progress through early to middle childhood, the amount of time they spend outside the family home engaged in a range of formal and informal activities increases
The pupil responses suggested that interpersonal relationships in these primary classrooms were generally positive2, that the relationships with the teacher and other pupils were key, that parents had an important part to play, and that the experience of school depends on a number of factors and their interrelationship
The argument put forward in this paper is that the interpersonal relationships encountered by children in primary classrooms can be significant in providing learning environments which contribute to both social and affective outcomes (Birch & Ladd, 1998; Hamre & Pianta, 2001; Kington, 2005, Kington, 2012)
Summary
As children progress through early to middle childhood, the amount of time they spend outside the family home engaged in a range of formal and informal activities increases. Formal schooling, which in the UK usually commences at the beginning of the academic year that the child turns five years of age, is one of the entities that occupy a large proportion of children's out-of-home time. Research has recognized that the educational system has one of the most sustained contacts with children and has recognized the importance of understanding the impact of schools on children (Wang, Haertel, & Walberg, 1997; Werner 2000). Educational research documents our understandings of how school impacts on cognitive, social, behavioral and moral development of the child. The relationship that a child has with his or her teacher in the primary phase of schooling is associated with a range of child outcomes, including children's competent behaviour in relationships with peers, as well as their relationships with future teachers
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