Abstract
The present study examined differences in student–teacher relationship quality and engagement with schoolwork between boys from regular education and boys from special education for students with autism spectrum disorders (ASD). We also investigated whether the strength of associations between student–teacher relationship quality and engagement differed across boys from regular and special education. Third-to-sixth grade boys from regular education (N = 182) and special education for ASD (N = 113) reported about the relationship with their teachers (closeness, conflict) and their school engagement. Multilevel modeling showed that boys from special education for ASD reported more conflict and less engagement than boys from regular education. Furthermore, the association between conflict and engagement was stronger for boys from special education than from regular education. Future research may aim to investigate conflict in relationships with boys from special education for ASD as a potential target for teacher interventions.
Highlights
Previous research has found strong evidence that the affective quality of dyadic student–teacher relationships is associated with stu dents’ school functioning, such as their engagement with schoolwork (e. g., Archambault, Pagani, & Fitzpatrick, 2013; Hughes, 2011; Roorda, Jak, Zee, Oort, & Koomen, 2017)
Closeness was positively associated with Engagement, whereas Conflict was negatively correlated with Engage ment, both for boys from special education for autism spectrum disorders (ASD) and regular education
Our study was one of the first to measure affective, dyadic stu dent–teacher relationships from the perspective of boys from special education for ASD and the first to focus on engagement as aspect of the school functioning of boys from special education for ASD
Summary
Previous research has found strong evidence that the affective quality of dyadic student–teacher relationships is associated with stu dents’ school functioning, such as their engagement with schoolwork (e. g., Archambault, Pagani, & Fitzpatrick, 2013; Hughes, 2011; Roorda, Jak, Zee, Oort, & Koomen, 2017). Student-teacher re lationships are more strongly associated with the school engagement of at-risk students than for their typically developing peers (Hamre & Pianta, 2001; Roorda, Koomen, Spilt, & Oort, 2011). Research into relationships between teachers and students with ASD, has mostly focused on teachers’ relationship perceptions (Eisenhower, Blacher, & Bush, 2015). In studies focusing on typically developing students, agreement between teachers’ and students’ relationship per ceptions is usually moderate at best (Hughes, 2011; Koomen & Jellesma, 2015). It seems to be important to take the relationship perceptions of students’ with ASD into account as well and to investigate how relationship perceptions of students with ASD are associated with their school engagement
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