Mother-Child and Teacher-Child Relationships and Their Associations with School Adjustment in Pre-school

Abstract

This research aims to investigate the contributions of Turkish pre-school children’s levels of positive/ conflicting relationships with their mothers and close/conflicting relationships with their teachers in predicting their adjustment to school. The sample of the study consists of 190 six-year-old children attending public pre-schools in Adana (a city in southern Turkey), as well as their mothers and teachers. For the data analysis, hierarchical regression analysis has been conducted. The results of the study show the positive relationship established with the mother and teacher to be related to an increase in children’s school-adjustment behaviors. A positive relationship has been noted for positive mother-child relationships with children’s cooperative participation, self-directedness, and total school adjustment. The results indicate a positive link for closeness in the teacher-child relationship with school liking, cooperative participation, self-directedness, and total school adjustment. Additionally, a positive relationship has been observed for the conflictive teacher-child relationship with school avoidance. An inverse relationship has also been observed for the conflictive teacher-child relationship with cooperative participation, self-directedness, and school adjustment. As conflicts with a teacher increase, the child’s school adjustment decreases.