Teacher-child Relationship Quality Research Articles

Resilience in multicultural classrooms: School relationships can protect the school adjustment of immigrant, refugee and non-immigrant children.

According to the risk and resilience perspective, protective factors can attenuate the effect of risks and challenges on children's adjustment. For immigrant and refugee children, supportive relationships in the new context can be particularly beneficial. We expected that supportive school relationships play a protective role for the school adjustment of first-generation immigrant and refugee and non-immigrant children, by moderating the effect of one acculturative challenge (i.e., school language proficiency). We investigated the moderating roles of teacher-child and peer relationship quality on the association between German language proficiency and school adjustment (i.e., school achievement and belongingness) among first-generation immigrant and refugee and non-immigrant children. We recruited n = 278 fourth grade children (Mage = 10.47, SDage = .55, 53.24% female; 37% first-generation immigrant and refugee children). Questionnaires assessed children's reported teacher-child and peer relationship quality and school belongingness. One vocabulary test measured children's German proficiency. School achievement was assessed by their grade point average (GPA) and by a reading comprehension test. To investigate our hypotheses, we performed path analyses. Teacher-child relationship mitigated the effect of German proficiency on children's reading comprehension among all children and on GPA among immigrant and refugee children only. Peer relationship buffered the negative effect of German proficiency on school belongingness. Teacher-child and peer relationship quality can be beneficial for the school adjustment of both first-generation immigrant and refugee children and non-immigrant children.

Training and coaching early childhood teachers to foster social, emotional, and behavioral competence of children in Turkey.

A growing evidence base demonstrates the effectiveness of teacher training and coaching interventions to improve teacher- and child-level outcomes in high-income countries. However, more information is needed to show the benefits of these interventions in low- and middle-income countries (LMICs). To provide an evidence base for LMICs, we conducted a cluster-randomized controlled trial examining the efficacy of a teacher training and coaching intervention for promoting children's social, emotional, and behavioral competence, Reaching Educators and Children (REACH) Classroom Check-Up (CCU), on teachers' behaviors, teacher-child relationship quality, and children's social competence and problem behaviors. Participants included 20 early childhood teachers and 175 children (4-6 year olds) in Turkey. Findings indicate that REACH CCU increased teachers' positive behaviors and teacher behaviors that support social, emotional, and behavioral competence of children, while reducing teachers' negative behaviors. Teachers in REACH CCU demonstrated an increased level of closeness and reduced levels of conflict with children in their classrooms. Furthermore, REACH CCU improved teacher-reported social competence and reduced problem behaviors of children. Results provide evidence that REACH CCU is a promising approach for improving teachers' behaviors, teacher-child relationship quality, and children's social, emotional, and behavioral competence, especially in LMICs. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2024 APA, all rights reserved).

Kindergarten children’s academic engagement: A dual-pathway model including social information processing, social behavior in class, and teacher–child relationship quality

Education researchers and practitioners have been exploring for years the key factors impacting children’s academic engagement. Still, relatively little is known about the role of children’s social cognition in their academic engagement. Accordingly, the current study focuses on the potential indirect associations between young children’s social information processing patterns (SIP) and their academic engagement through their social behaviors in class, specifically their prosocial and problem behaviors, and following by the quality of their relationship with their main kindergarten teacher. The study examines these indirect effects in one dual-pathway model which includes both a pathway from children’s competent SIP patterns to higher levels of academic engagement and from children’s aggressive SIP patterns to lower levels of academic engagement. The sample included 300 kindergarten children (151 girls; Mage = 68.76 months). Results showed that competent SIP patterns were positively linked to children’s academic engagement, which encompasses both their academic self-perceptions and their attitudes toward learning, via children’s prosocial behaviors in class and subsequently teacher–child relational closeness. In addition, aggressive SIP patterns were negatively linked to the kindergarteners’ attitudes toward learning via the children’s problem behaviors in class and subsequently teacher–child relational conflict. Results have implications for both research and practice in the understanding of the influence of social cognition, behavior, and social relationships on academic engagement for young learners.

Children's task persistence in first grade: The role of parent-child and teacher-child relationships

The present study investigated the extent to which the quality of both parent-child and teacher-child relationships uniquely and interactively relates to a child's task persistence in first grade. Furthermore, the study also examined the role of a child's task persistence in the quality of their relationships with their parents and teachers after controlling for the child's gender, temperament, academic performance, and parental education level. The study followed Lithuanian children from the beginning (T1, n = 337) to the end (T2, n = 341) of first grade, along with their parents (T1, n = 347; T2, n = 323) and first-grade teachers (T1, n = 24; T2, n = 25). At the start of first grade, the children completed reading, spelling, and math (i.e., addition and subtraction) performance tests. The parents and teachers filled out questionnaires at the beginning and end of these students’ first-grade academic year. The parents reported on the quality of their relationships with their children and on their children's temperament, while teachers reported on their relationship quality with each student and their task persistence. First, the results indicated that a conflictual relationship between the students and their teachers was related negatively to subsequent task persistence. Second, the moderation results indicated that if the teacher-child relationship was close, then a close parent-child relationship longitudinally was related positively to the children's task persistence. Third, the results indicated that a child's higher level of task persistence was associated longitudinally with a closer relationship with their first-grade teachers.

Peer Victimization among Black Preschoolers: Roles of Emotion Knowledge, Teacher-Child Relationships, and Gender

This study examined whether varying dimensions of teacher-child relationship quality and gender moderated associations between knowledge of negative emotion-eliciting situations and peer victimization among Black preschoolers (60 boys, 54 girls) who ranged in age from 35 to 65 months. Fifty-one children had a Black teacher, 46 had a White teacher, and 17 had a Latine teacher. All teachers were female. Knowledge of negative emotion-eliciting situations was assessed directly in the fall. Lead teachers reported on teacher-child relationship quality between September and December. A second teacher completed peer victimization ratings in the spring of the following year. When teacher-child closeness was high, there was a positive association between knowledge of negative emotion-eliciting situations and physical victimization, but a negative association emerged when teacher-child closeness was low. In accord with the victim schema model that undergirded this study, knowledge of negative emotion-eliciting situations was negatively related to physical victimization for children who experienced high teacher-child conflict and dependency. Black teachers perceived more relational victimization. Our findings highlight the need for further examination of peer victimization among young Black children and suggest that identifying the individual and ecological correlates of peer victimization should be a priority for school psychologists working in early educational contexts.

Young children's social withdrawal and teacher–child relationship quality: A cross‐cultural comparison between the Netherlands and China

AbstractThe present study investigated how young children's (5‐to‐8‐year‐olds) social inhibition and solitary behavior were associated with teacher–child relationship quality and whether these associations differed across the Netherlands and China. The Dutch sample included 35 teachers and 201 children (49% girls). The Chinese sample consisted of 19 teachers and 152 children (50% girls). Teachers rated children's social inhibition and solitary behavior, and their relationship (closeness, conflict) with each child. Multilevel linear modeling revealed that in both countries, social inhibition was associated negatively with closeness and solitary behavior was associated positively with conflict. These associations were equally strong in China and the Netherlands. One association differed across countries: Social inhibition was associated negatively with conflict in the Netherlands, whereas this association was not significant in China. As such, cultural values could affect how social inhibition links to teacher–child relationships. Caution is recommended when generalizing findings from one country to another country.

White privilege and teacher perceptions of teacher-child relationship quality

In this study, we investigated differences in teachers' perceptions of the teacher-child relationship from kindergarten through second grade as a function of child race and gender from the perspective of critical race theory and the cultural synchrony hypothesis. Given the extensive evidence of White privilege and anti-Black racism in the US education system, we expected that teachers, particularly White teachers, would perceive their relationships with White children more positively than with Black children. Controlling for family SES and child gender, results supported this hypothesis. Black boys had the highest risk of being perceived by teachers as having poor relationships with teachers in kindergarten (highest conflict and lowest closeness) and White girls had the lowest risk. In addition, teachers perceived relationships with Black boys as increasing in conflict across first and second grades at higher rates than with White and female children. These findings remained after examining teacher-child racial match as a moderator. Our results indicate that racism and sexism work together to explain the perceptions teachers have of children in the early elementary grades. Implications for training teachers and school psychologists on anti-racism and cultural competency are discussed.

The relationship between preschool teacher trait mindfulness and teacher-child relationship quality: the chain mediating role of emotional intelligence and empathy.

The teacher-child relationship plays an important role in children's future development. However, the existing research mainly focuses on the influence of preschool teachers' external conditions on the teacher-student relationship, while the research on the influence of teachers' internal psychological characteristics on the teacher-student relationship is relatively lacking. In this study, three hundred and seventeen preschool teachers were tested were tested with Five Facet Mindfulness Questionnaire, Emotional Intelligence Scale, Chinese Interpersonal Response Index, and Teacher-student Relationship Scale. The results showed that trait mindfulness positively predicted the quality of parent-teacher relationship (β = 0.173, p = 0.026). Emotional intelligence played a mediating role in trait mindfulness and teacher-child relationship quality (β = 0.118, p = 0.004), and empathy played a mediating role in trait mindfulness and teacher-child relationship quality (β = 0.112, p = 0.001). Meanwhile, emotional intelligence and empathy played a chain mediating role in trait mindfulness and parent-teacher relationship quality (β = 0.044, p = 0.038). On the one hand, this study enriches attachment theory. The conclusions of this study verify the diversity of proximal factors in attachment theory, and confirm the influence of teachers' own characteristics and abilities on the teacher-child relationship quality. On the other hand, by exploring the factors affecting the teacher-child relationship quality, we can find ways to improve teacher-child relationship from a new perspective, and then provide some new methods and approaches for improving the quality of preschool teacher-child relationship.

Teachers' perceptions of the school functioning of Chinese preschool children with callous-unemotional traits and disruptive behaviors

This qualitative study investigated teachers’ views on differences in children with disruptive behavior and high versus low levels of callous-unemotional (CU) traits in response to classroom management strategies, instructional methods, and teacher-child and teacher-caregiver relationship quality. Twenty teachers from three Chinese preschools were interviewed about 40 children with disruptive behavior (aged 4–6 years). Teachers perceived children with CU traits to have more severe disruptive behavior, poorer quality teacher-child and teacher-caregiver relationships and to be less responsive to discipline. The implications of findings for school-based intervention promoting engagement and prosocial behavior for children with CU traits are discussed.

The Teachers’ Role in Behavioral Problems of Pupils With EBD in Special Education: Teacher–Child Relationships Versus Structure

This longitudinal study examined bidirectional associations between special education pupils’ teacher–child relationship characteristics (quality, satisfaction, and conflict), classroom structure, and behavioral problems (externalizing and attention-hyperactivity). A secondary goal was to investigate the extent to which severity of behavioral problems moderated the prospective associations. Participants were 586 pupils (86% boys) in Grades 4 to 6 ( Mage time 1 = 10.82 years, SD = 0.86) from 13 special education schools in the Netherlands and their teachers. Findings indicated that primarily teacher–child conflict was related to increased externalizing problems. More classroom structure was related to decreased attention-hyperactivity problems, but higher teacher–child relationship quality was linked to increases in attention-hyperactivity problems. Moreover, both types of problems were related to increases in conflict. Severity of behavior problems did not moderate these associations. Although findings were not consistent in both school years, they suggested that particularly reducing conflict and instilling more classroom structure were the most effective strategies in reducing behavioral problems. Furthermore, disrupting negative transactional associations between conflict and externalizing behavior is important to reduce externalizing behavior.

Early Teacher-Child Relationships Promote Self-Regulation Development in Prekindergarten.

Children’s experiences during the prekindergarten period are critical for shaping their emerging self-regulation skills. The purpose of this study was to examine the contribution of teacher–child relationship quality to children’s performance on a self-regulation task at the end of prekindergarten. Teachers rated the conflict, closeness, and dependency in their relationships with 104 children in the fall of prekindergarten, and children’s self-regulation was independently measured with a visual attention task in the spring of prekindergarten. In addition, teachers and parents rated children’s temperamental self-regulation (i.e., effortful control). Results indicate that greater teacher–child dependency predicted children’s longer time on the visual attention task, and greater teacher–child closeness predicted children’s lower accuracy on the visual attention task. In addition, children who were rated as more self-regulated by parents were more accurate on the visual attention task. The implications of the results are discussed.

Depressive and anxious symptoms and teacher-child dependency and conflict in early childhood

Internalizing symptoms, including depressive and anxious symptoms, are among the most common mental health concerns for young children. In middle childhood, children who experience more frequent internalizing symptoms tend to also experience more negative relationships with their teachers. Less is known about how children's depressive and anxious symptoms are associated with teacher-child relationship quality in early childhood. The few studies of these associations in early childhood present mixed findings on the directionality of these associations. To address these mixed findings in early childhood, the current study used autoregressive latent trajectory models with structured residuals to examine four conceptual models of the concurrent and prospective associations between children's depressive and anxious symptoms and teacher-child dependency and conflict, including concurrent, child-driven, relationship-driven, and transactional models. Participants were 428 children (49.1% girls, Mage = 4.09 years, SD = 0.32) assessed in the fall and spring of preschool and kindergarten. Children's symptoms of depression and anxiety were related to the concurrent quality of teacher-child dependency and conflict, supporting the concurrent model. Children who experienced increased depressive and anxious symptoms across preschool and kindergarten, relative to their peers and their own average experiences, tended to also experience more dependent and conflictual relationships with their teachers.

The Role of Teacher–Child Relationship Quality in Black and Latino Boys’ Positive Development

The Role of Teacher–Child Relationship Quality in Black and Latino Boys’ Positive Development

Longitudinal associations among teacher–child relationship quality, behavioral engagement, and academic achievement

Informed by attachment theory and self-determination theory, the goal of this study was to test the hypothesis that behavioral engagement mediates the longitudinal associations between teacher–child relationship quality and academic achievement. In addition, in an exploratory manner, we expected to identify some additional transactional relations among these variables. Participants were 301 children (Mage = 65.72 months, SD = 4.18 months; 49% boys) and their teachers. In each spring semester from kindergarten to second grade, teachers reported on the closeness and conflict in the teacher–child relationship and on children's academic skills. Each year, trained observers rated children's behavioral engagement in the classroom, and a different group of research assistants assessed children's academic skills using subscales from the Woodcock–Johnson III Tests of Achievement. Cross–lagged panel models indicated that teacher–child conflict in kindergarten was indirectly related to teacher–reported academic skills in second grade through behavioral engagement in first grade. There was also evidence of transactional, negative relations between teacher–child conflict and behavioral engagement from kindergarten to first grade. These findings highlight behavioral engagement as a mechanism linking early teacher–child conflict and children's later academic skills.

Strengthening Individual Teacher-Child Relationships: An Intervention Study Among Student Teachers in Special Education

Relationships with children with special educational needs can be emotionally challenging for teachers and conflicts may negatively impact both children and teachers. Beginning teachers in particular may struggle with negative teacher-child relationships and the emotions these invoke. A first step in coping with relationship difficulties with specific children is increasing the teacher’s awareness and understanding of relational themes and emotions in the relationship with that specific child. Therefore, this multiple case intervention study examined the effects of LLInC (Leerkracht Leerling Interactie Coaching in Dutch, or: Teacher Student Interaction Coaching) in a sample of six student teachers in their final internship. LLInC is a relationship-focused coaching program using narrative interview techniques to facilitate in-depth reflection on teacher-child relationships. The intervention aims to foster teachers’ awareness of (negative) internalized emotions and beliefs in order to improve closeness and positive affect, and to reduce conflict and negative affect in teacher-child relationships. Participants repeatedly reported on their perceptions of the teacher-child relationship and on emotions in relation to a specific child before and after the LLInC intervention, which consisted of two one-on-one sessions with a coach. Visual between- and within-phases analyses revealed differential intervention effects across teachers on the development of teacher-child relationship quality and relationship emotions. For all teachers, except for one, positive effects were found on feelings of joy and perceptions of closeness. Preventive effects (i.e., stopping downward trends) were more often observed for competence-based and relationship-based emotions and perceptions (competence, commitment, closeness) than for basic emotions (joy, anger, worry). Although further research is needed, the results highlight the potential of LLInC in influencing pre-service teachers’ child-specific emotions and relationship perceptions. Directions for future research and implications for teacher education are discussed.

The effects of teacher–child racial congruence, child race, and emotion situation knowledge on teacher–child relationships and school readiness

AbstractWe examined whether teacher–child racial congruence and child race moderated the association between children's emotion situation knowledge and the dimensions of teacher–child relationship quality (i.e., closeness, conflict, and dependency). We also investigated these dimensions as mediators linking emotion situation knowledge and later school readiness. Participants were 303 White and African American preschoolers and their teachers who were also racially diverse. For White preschoolers, teacher–child closeness was more likely and teacher–child conflict and dependency were less likely when their teachers matched them in race. For African American children, teacher–child conflict and dependency were more likely when their teachers matched them in race. Emotion situation knowledge and teacher–child closeness were positively related to later school readiness. Findings are discussed in the context of recommendations for policies and practices encouraging culturally responsive, equitable, and positive social–emotional instructional approaches that motivate, support, and sustain positive teacher–child relationships in early childhood classrooms.

Co-occurring trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems from grades 1 to 12: Longitudinal associations with teacher-child relationship quality and academic performance.

This investigation examined patterns of codeveloping internalizing and externalizing problems from early childhood through adolescence (i.e., Grades 1 to 12). Subgroups of children with heterogeneous developmental trajectories (i.e., pure and co-occurring internalizing and externalizing problems) were identified and their long-term associations with teacher-child relationship quality and academic (math and reading) performance were assessed. Findings were based on a sample of 784 children (52.6% girls) who were followed from Grade 1 (Mage = 6.57) to Grade 12 (Mage = 17.57). Children’s internalizing problems, externalizing problems, and teacher-child relationship quality were assessed annually from Grades 1 to 12, and their academic performance was assessed from Grades 1 to 9. Results revealed four distinct trajectories of internalizing and externalizing problems including chronic co-occurring, moderate co-occurring, pure-externalizing, and low-risk groups. Children with chronic co-occurring internalizing and externalizing problems exhibited more sustained teacher-child conflict, lower teacher-child warmth, and lower math and reading performance. Children with pure externalizing and moderate co-occurring problems were also at risk for scholastic difficulties, but to a lesser magnitude than children with chronic co-occurring problems. Compared to children in the low risk group, those in all three risk groups exhibited patterns of scholastic maladjustment that were either sustained or worsened after the transition to middle school. (PsycInfo Database Record (c) 2021 APA, all rights reserved)

Teachers as co-regulators of children’s emotions: A descriptive study of teacher-child emotion dialogues in special education

BackgroundThe study examined how teachers and children with emotional and behavioral disturbances engage in dialogues about children’s emotional experiences. Dialogues about emotions are an important strategy for teachers to co-regulate children’s emotions but have remained understudied. AimsThis study aimed to explore whether the Autobiographical Emotional Events Dialogue (AEED) can help to assess the quality of teacher-child emotion dialogues about past emotional events and examined associations with child behavior and teacher-child relationship quality. MethodThe sample included 85 children and 70 teachers from special education schools serving children with emotional and behavioral disturbances. Teacher-child dialogues were videotaped and coded using the 16 rating scales of the AEED coding system (Koren-Karie, Oppenheim, Carasso, & Haimovich, 2003). ResultsThe scales (except child boundary dissolution) could be reliably assessed. A Principal Component Analysis yielded 4 factors: Adequate task completion (coherent dialogues and positive child task behavior), Negativity (hostility and teacher boundary dissolution), Teacher Guidance (involvement, structuring, and acceptance), and Resolution (positive closure of negative stories). Child age, verbal intelligence, prosocial behavior, and higher teacher-child relationship scores (higher closeness, lower conflict) were positively associated with the quality of the dialogues but behavior problems were not. Conclusions and implicationsThe study provides first insight in teachers’ scaffolding of dialogues with children about negative emotional events in special education serving children with emotional and behavioral disturbances.

Social Resilience in Children with ADHD: Parent and Teacher Factors

Children with attention-deficit/hyperactivity disorder (ADHD) commonly experience poor social functioning. Previous investigations have focused on risk factors for social impairment such as children’s comorbid behavior problems and negative parenting. By contrast, few studies have considered parent and teacher processes that contribute to social resilience. We investigated how potential risk factors (child externalizing behavior, child internalizing behavior, negative parenting) and compensatory/protective factors (parent social competence, positive teacher-child relationship quality) may relate to social competence in children with ADHD. Participants were 213 children with ADHD (148 boys; ages 6–11). Using a cross-sectional design, parents and teachers reported on children’s comorbid externalizing and internalizing behavior problems and social skills. Parents also reported on their own social competence and parenting practices, while teachers reported on their relationship quality with the children in the study. Results indicated that: (a) the risk factors of child externalizing and internalizing behavior were associated with poorer child social skills; (b) positive teacher-child relationship quality and high parent social competence were associated with better child social skills after statistical control of risk factors; (c) high parent social competence mitigated the association between child externalizing behavior and poor child social skills; and (d) positive teacher-child relationship quality mitigated the association between child internalizing behavior and poor child social skills. The presence of positive parent and teacher constructs was not necessarily equivalent to the absence of negative constructs, suggesting complexity in risk and resilience processes. We discuss the clinical implications of these findings for encouraging social resilience among children with ADHD.

Exploring the Role of Play Behaviors in the Links between Preschoolers’ Shyness and Teacher-Child Relationships

ABSTRACT Research Findings: The goal of this study was to investigate the role of play behaviors in the links between child shyness and teacher-child relationship quality in preschool. Participants were 212 (102 girls) young children (M = 58.32 months, SD = 10.72) recruited from 10 classrooms in three preschools in central Italy. Parents evaluated children’s shyness and teachers rated their relationships with children as well as play behaviors at preschools. Results from path analysis showed that shyness predicted the display of reticent behaviors (onlooking, unoccupied), which in turn, was associated with dependent teacher-child relationships. Shyness also predicted less social play, which in turn was related to less closeness with teachers. Practice or Policy: The findings provide evidence of the role of social play in impacting the quality of teacher relationships with shy preschool children. Teachers’ understanding that children’s characteristics may influence the quality of teacher-child relationships could be part of teacher training at preschool.