Practitioner Review: Dyadic teacher-child relationships: comparing theories, empirical evidence and implications for practice.

BACKGROUND: Research on dyadic teacher-child relationships has grown rapidly. However, a review of relevant theories and its implications for assessment and intervention has been lacking so far. METHODS: A selective review of theories, empirical evidence and interventions was conducted. RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS: Different theories highlight distinct aspects of teacher-child relationships and have different implications for assessment and intervention. The attachment perspective on dyadic teacher-child relationships is most widely applied in psychological research. Also relatively well-known is self-determination theory. However, the interpersonal theory, though widely applied in educational research to teacher-class interactions, has been largely overlooked in research on dyadic teacher-child relationships. The overarching dyadic systems perspective, providing insight in the dynamic interplay between different aspects of teacher-child relationships, also deserves more attention. Recommendations to improve teacher-child relationships address the need for teacher sensitivity, relationship-based communication and flexibility in interpersonal behaviour in everyday teaching.

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

BACKGROUND: The 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. AIMS: This 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. METHOD: The 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). RESULTS: The 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 IMPLICATIONS: The 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.

Understanding the origins of child-teacher dependency: mother-child attachment security and temperamental inhibition as antecedents.

This study investigated the joint contribution of child-mother attachment quality and child temperamental inhibition to the development of child-teacher dependency. A sample of 237 kindergartners (Mage = 60.2 months) and their teachers from 36 classrooms participated. Preschool child-mother attachment quality was assessed using the Attachment Q-set. Behavioral inhibition was rated by the preschool teacher. Dependency was assessed at three waves during kindergarten, using observer and teacher reports. In line with assumptions from attachment theory, less securely attached children were observed to be more overly reliant on their teacher in class. For behavioral inhibition, a divergent picture emerged depending on the assessment of dependency: Classroom observations yielded less (overt) indications of dependency among more inhibited children, whereas teachers reported more (covert) expressions of dependency. These results suggest that different measures may capture different aspects of the multifaceted construct of dependency, thus calling for more conceptual and empirical work.

Toward Empirical Evidence for Teachers' Mental Representations of Dyadic Relationships With Students: Two Priming Experiments.

The attachment-based perspective on teacher-student relationships assumes that teachers internalize experiences with specific students into mental representations of dyadic relationships. Once activated, mental representations are believed to influence teachers' affective and cognitive social information processing. Two priming experiments with 57 elementary school teachers were conducted to test these assumptions. To activate teachers' mental representations of dyadic relationships, teachers were primed with photographs of students with whom they have a positive and negative relationship (two experimental conditions) as well as with photographs of students with whom they have a distant relationship and unknown students (two control conditions). Teachers' responses in two different experiments -an emotion categorization task and a vignette task -were analyzed to measure differences between conditions. Mixed evidence was found for the idea that teachers' mental representations of dyadic relationships impact their affective and cognitive information processing.

Inhibited symptoms of Reactive Attachment Disorder: links with working models of significant others and the self.

To better understand Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD), the current study tested whether emotionally and behaviorally disordered children with versus without RAD differ with regard to the quality of their interpersonal behavior during interactions with teachers and with regard to their representations of self and others. Therefore, 77 children were screened for RAD symptoms and 22 likely cases of inhibited RAD were identified. To measure quality of the interactions with teachers, we observed children's trust and positive affect in dyadic interactions with teachers. For the representations of others, we measured self-reported trust in parents and teachers. For the representations of the self, two self-esteem assessments were individually administered. Results showed that, compared to children with other emotional and behavior disorders, RAD children's behavior reflected less trust in their teachers. At the level of representations, children reported less trust in teacher care. Instead, no links were found with self-report measures focusing on representations of parents and of self. These findings will be discussed in light of the ongoing discussion about whether or not attachment disorder and insecure attachment are associated concepts.

Teacher Involvement Prevents Increases in Children's Depressive Symptoms: Bidirectional Associations in Elementary School.

There is accumulating evidence that social relationships can buffer the development of depression in childhood and adolescence. However, few studies have focused on teacher-child relationships in the elementary school years. In addition, research that has examined bidirectional relations between teacher involvement and depressive symptoms is virtually absent in this age period. The participants in this study were 570 children and 30 teachers from 15 elementary schools. Data on children's depressive symptoms (peer- and teacher-reports) and teacher involvement (teacher-reports) were collected in the fall and spring of Grade 2 and Grade 3 (four waves). As expected, negative cross-time effects of teacher involvement on depressive symptoms were found within grade 2 and 3. In addition, a negative cross-time effect of depressive symptoms on teacher involvement was found in grade 3 only. The results thus indicate the protective role of teacher involvement in the development of depressive symptoms but also suggest that teachers may become less involved over time when they perceive a child as more depressed.

Teacher-child dependency and teacher sensitivity predict engagement of children with attachment problems.

It is suggested that dependent teacher-child relationships are associated with emotional insecurity and a lack of autonomous exploration that interferes with children's school development. This might be especially observed among children with attachment problems who may have developed a profound sense of insecurity in relationships with others. In this study, the effects of dependency on children's classroom and peer engagement were examined as well as the protective role of teacher sensitivity. The sample included 85 Belgian children with mild to severe attachment problems and 70 teachers from special education schools. Data on teacher sensitivity and teacher-child relationship quality (dependency, conflict, closeness) were collected in the first trimester of the school year using independent observations and teacher questionnaires respectively. Teachers also completed questionnaires on classroom engagement (independent classroom participation) and peer engagement (social withdrawal) in the first, second, and third trimester. Dependency was uniquely associated with lower levels of independent classroom participation. Moreover, low teacher sensitivity predicted declines in independent classroom participation among overly dependent children, whereas high teacher sensitivity predicted growth in independent classroom participation. Dependency and teacher sensitivity did not predict social withdrawal. This study highlights the importance of teachers being sensitive to the needs of overly dependent children to support the autonomous exploratory behavior of these children. (PsycINFO Database Record

Can teacher-child relationships support human rights to freedom of opinion and expression, education and participation?

PURPOSE: This study explored how teacher-child relationships change over the early school years, in terms of closeness and conflict, whether these trajectories differ in type and frequency for children with typical development and children with speech and language concern (SLC), and whether the trajectories are associated with school outcomes at 12-13 years. METHOD: Participants were children, parents and teachers in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children. Parents identified 2890 children with typical communication and 1442 children with SLC. Teacher-rated teacher-child closeness and conflict were collected biennially over six years. Academic and social-emotional outcomes were reported by teachers and children. Growth mixture modelling was conducted to generate teacher-child relationship trajectories and Wald's chi-square analyses were used to test the association between trajectories and school outcomes at 12-13 years, after controlling for a range of covariates including child's sex, language background, Indigenous status, age and socio-economic position. RESULT: In both groups, the majority of children had teacher-child relationship trajectories with sustained high closeness and low conflict that predicted positive outcomes at age 12-13, but the SLC group was more at risk of less positive trajectories and poorer school outcomes. CONCLUSION: Close, less conflicted relationships with teachers may provide a supportive context for later language, literacy and social-emotional development. This study highlights the role of teachers in supporting children in their development of communication and academic skills that will optimise their capacity for freedom of opinions and expression, education and participation, as enshrined in Articles 19, 26 and 27 of the Universal Declaration of Human Rights.

Keeping the Spirits Up: The Effect of Teachers' and Parents' Emotional Support on Children's Working Memory Performance.

Working memory, used to temporarily store and mentally manipulate information, is important for children's learning. It is therefore valuable to understand which (contextual) factors promote or hinder working memory performance. Recent research shows positive associations between positive parent-child and teacher-student interactions and working memory performance and development. However, no study has yet experimentally investigated how parents and teachers affect working memory performance. Based on attachment theory, the current study investigated the role of parent and teacher emotional support in promoting working memory performance by buffering the negative effect of social stress. Questionnaires and an experimental session were completed by 170 children from grade 1 to 2 (Mage = 7 years 6 months, SD = 7 months). Questionnaires were used to assess children's perceptions of the teacher-student and parent-child relationship. During an experimental session, working memory was measured with the Corsi task backward (Milner, 1971) in a pre- and post-test design. In-between the tests stress was induced in the children using the Cyberball paradigm (Williams et al., 2000). Emotional support was manipulated (between-subjects) through an audio message (either a weather report, a supportive message of a stranger, a supportive message of a parent, or a supportive message of a teacher). Results of repeated measures ANOVA showed no clear effect of the stress induction. Nevertheless, an effect of parent and teacher support was found and depended on the quality of the parent-child relationship. When children had a positive relationship with their parent, support of parents and teachers had little effect on working memory performance. When children had a negative relationship with their parent, a supportive message of that parent decreased working memory performance, while a supportive message from the teacher increased performance. In sum, the current study suggests that parents and teachers can support working memory performance by being supportive for the child. Teacher support is most effective when the child has a negative relationship with the parent. These insights can give direction to specific measures aimed at preventing and resolving working memory problems and related issues.

Use of Praise and Reprimands as Critical Ingredients of Teacher Behavior Management: Effects on Children's Development in the Context of a Teacher-Mediated Classroom Intervention.

This intervention study examined teachers' use of verbal praise and reprimands as specific components of teacher behavior management that can promote children's development in schools. The impact of teacher praise and reprimands on children's development was examined in the context of a teacher-mediated, classroom intervention. The sample involved 570 children and 30 teachers from second grade classrooms in 15 primary schools. The Good Behavior Game was implemented in half of the classrooms based on random assignment within schools. Teacher behavior management (praise for appropriate behavior and reprimands for inappropriate behavior) was observed during regular classroom lessons. Hyperactive, disruptive, and withdrawn child behavior were assessed using teacher and peer reports, global self-concept and emotional engagement were assessed using child self-reports. All variables were assessed at the beginning (pre-test) and at the end (post-test) of the school year. Multilevel regression models accounted for the nested structure of the data. The results suggested positive effects of fewer reprimands and more praise on child outcomes (except emotional school engagement), although the results differed by informant. We also found indirect effects of the Good Behavior Game (GBG) on child outcomes via teacher praise and reprimands. Overall, the study suggests that teachers' use of praise and reprimands is a malleable classroom factor that influences children's behavioral and socio-emotional development.

The socio-behavioral development of children with symptoms of attachment disorder: An observational study of teacher sensitivity in special education.

BACKGROUND: Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) have serious socio-behavioral problems and often rely on socially abnormal, aggressive, and manipulative forms of communication. Little is known, however, about the influence of teachers on the socio-behavioral development of children with symptoms of RAD. AIMS: This longitudinal study examined the influence of teacher sensitivity on the socio-behavioral development of children with symptoms of RAD across one school year. METHOD: The sample included 85 Belgian children and 70 teachers from special education schools. In the previous school year, teachers rated Inhibited and Disinhibited RAD symptoms. In the next school year, teacher Sensitivity was observed in interactions with individual children in the first trimester. Teacher-rated Overt aggression, Relational aggression, and Prosocial behavior was assessed in the first, second, and third trimester. RESULTS: We found no effects of Sensitivity on Prosocial behavior. Also, no effects were found for children with Disinhibited RAD symptoms. For children with Inhibited RAD symptoms, increases in Overt and Relational aggression were observed when Sensitivity was low, whereas decreases were observed when Sensitivity was high. CONCLUSIONS AND IMPLICATIONS: The results suggest that teacher sensitivity is associated with the socio-behavioral development of children with Inhibited RAD symptoms but not with the socio-behavioral development of children with Disinhibited RAD symptoms. WHAT THIS PAPER ADDS: Children with Reactive Attachment Disorder (RAD) exhibit socio-behavioral problems that hinder their school adjustment. These socio-behavioral problems appear relatively stable and it is not known what influence special education teachers might have on the development of these problems across a school year. This study suggests that teacher sensitivity is associated with changes in the socio-behavioral development of children with Inhibited RAD symptoms. Whereas high sensitivity was associated with improvements, low sensitivity appeared to exaggerate the socio-behavioral problems of these children. As children with Inhibited RAD symptoms have difficulties communicating their needs and wishes in socially adaptive ways, it may not be easy for teachers to understand these children. Teachers may misinterpret a child's behavior and consequently will fail to respond to the child's underlying needs. This may reinforce the child's socio-behavioral problems and increase the child's reliance on egocentric and aggressive means in interactions with others. This study therefore highlights the need to support teachers in interactions with children with Inhibited RAD symptoms in order to help them understand how the children's observable behaviors in the classroom may convey their underlying socio-emotional needs and how they can respond to these needs. Importantly, teacher sensitivity was not associated with the socio-behavioral development of children with Disinhibited RAD symptoms (e.g., indiscriminate friendliness). Consistent with previous research, this study suggests that children with Inhibited RAD symptoms are more susceptible to the quality of the caregiving environment than children with Disinhibited RAD symptoms and extends this finding to the school context.

Discrepancies in perceptions of close relationships of young adolescents: a risk for psychopathology?

Discrepancies between children and partners (e.g., parents, friends, peers) in reports of social functioning and self-other relationships are common in clinical practice and in research. However, it is not clear whether children's biased perceptions of self-other relationships, relative to the reports of partners, are predominantly a reflection of underlying psychological dysfunctions or whether these biased perceptions present a risk factor for subsequent problematic development. This longitudinal study therefore examined the effects of adolescent-mother disagreement and adolescent-best friend disagreement in perceptions of close (dyadic) relationships on the development of psychopathology in early adolescence. The sample included 497 thirteen year-old adolescents of Dutch-Caucasian backgrounds (57 % boys; 41 % at high risk for externalizing problems), their mothers, and self-nominated best friends. The participants completed reports of positive dyadic relationship quality (warmth) in Grade 7. Discrepancy scores were based on difference scores between the adolescents' versus the partners' reports. Both absolute disagreement and direction of disagreement (i.e., over- or underestimation relative to the relationship partner) were examined. Self-reported symptoms of depression and mother-reported aggression were assessed in Grade 7, 8, and 9. Absolute disagreement in perceptions of warmth between adolescents and best friends was significantly related to higher baseline levels of aggression. No significant effects of discrepancy scores on growth curves of symptoms of depression and aggression were found. The results may suggest that it is more important for adolescents to develop positive perceptions of close relationships than to agree with partners on the quality of the relationship.

African American Children At-Risk of Increasingly Conflicted Teacher-Student Relationships in Elementary School.

Previous studies found different trajectories of conflicted relationships with teachers predictive of academic underachievement. However, little is known about what places children at risk for atypical conflict trajectories. This follow-up study examines whether African American ethnicity, IQ, and SES are unique predictors of teacher-student conflict trajectories taking into account sociobehavioral predictors, including aggression and prosocial behavior. The study included the same ethnically diverse sample of 657 academically at-risk children in which previously four latent growth classes of conflict trajectories (grades 1-5) predictive of underachievement were identified. In this follow-up study, 6 predictors were examined: African American ethnicity, SES, IQ (independent assessment), Inhibitory control (performance measure), and Aggression and Prosocial behavior (peer assessment). The results demonstrated that African American ethnicity, but not IQ and SES, uniquely predicted atypical conflict trajectories, while controlling for sociobehavioral predictors. African American children were at risk of increasingly conflicted relationships with elementary school teachers, which has been found to increase the risk of academic underachievement in middle school.

Language development in the early school years: the importance of close relationships with teachers.

This longitudinal study examined developmental links between closeness in teacher-child relationships and children's receptive language ability from the end of the preschool years into the early elementary years, while controlling for changes in peer interaction quality and child behavioral functioning. The sample included children and their parents and teachers (N = 4,983) participating in the Longitudinal Study of Australian Children (LSAC) at ages 4-5, 6-7, and 8-9 years (3 waves). Teachers reported on levels of closeness in relationships with individual children. Independent assessments of receptive language were employed. Parents and teachers reported on peer interaction problems and child conduct problems. Results indicated reciprocal associations between close teacher-child relationships and receptive language development above and beyond associations with peer interaction quality and child behavioral functioning. However, the effects were only modest.

Measuring quantitative autism traits in families: informant effect or intergenerational transmission?

Autism spectrum disorders (ASD) have a high degree of heritability, but there is still much debate about specific causal genes and pathways. To gain insight into patterns of transmission, research has focused on the relatedness of quantitative autism traits (QAT) between family members, mostly using questionnaires. Yet, different kinds of bias may influence research results. In this paper, we focus on possible informant effects and, taking these into account, on possible intergenerational transmission of QAT. This study used multiple informant data retrieved via the Social Responsiveness Scale from 170 families with at least one member with ASD. Using intraclass correlations (ICCs) and mixed model analyses, we investigated inter-informant agreement and differences between parent and teacher reports on children and between self- and other-reports on adults. Using structural equation modelling (SEM), we investigated the relatedness of QAT between family members in ASD families. Parent-teacher agreement about social responsiveness was poor, especially for children with ASD, though agreement between parents was moderate to strong for affected and unaffected children. Agreement between self- and other-report in adult men was good, but only moderate in women. Agreement did not differ between adults with and without ASD. While accounting for informant effects, our SEM results corroborated the assortative mating theory and the intergenerational transmission of QAT from both fathers and mothers to their offspring.

Children's social self-concept and internalizing problems: the influence of peers and teachers.

This study aimed to understand how relationships with peers and teachers contribute to the development of internalizing problems via children's social self-concept. The sample included 570 children aged 7 years 5 months (SD = 4.6 months). Peer nominations of peer rejection, child-reported social self-concept, and teacher-reported internalizing problems were assessed longitudinally in the fall and spring of Grades 2 and 3. Teacher reports of support to the child were assessed in Grade 2. Results showed that peer rejection impeded children's social self-concept, which in turn affected the development of internalizing problems. Partial support was found for individual (but not classroom-level) teacher support to buffer the adverse effects of peer problems on children's self-concept, thereby mitigating its indirect effects on internalizing problems.

Interpersonal behaviors and complementarity in interactions between teachers and kindergartners with a variety of externalizing and internalizing behaviors.

The present study investigated whether the complementarity principle (mutual interactive behaviors are opposite on control and similar on affiliation) applies to teacher-child interactions within the kindergarten classroom. Furthermore, it was examined whether interactive behaviors and complementarity depended on children's externalizing and internalizing behaviors, interaction time, and interaction frequency. A total of 48 teachers and 179 selected kindergartners with a variety of externalizing and internalizing behaviors were observed in a small group task setting in the natural ecology of the classroom. Teachers' and children's interactive behaviors were rated by independent observers. Teachers reported about children's externalizing and internalizing behaviors. Multilevel analyses indicated that both teachers and children reacted complementarily on the control dimension but not on the affiliation dimension. Teachers showed more control and more affiliation toward children with higher levels of internalizing behavior. In addition, teachers displayed less affiliation toward children with higher levels of externalizing behavior, whereas those children did not show less affiliation themselves. Teachers' and children's complementarity tendencies on control were weaker if children had higher levels of externalizing behavior.

For whom does it work? Subgroup differences in the effects of a school-based universal prevention program.

This study examined subgroup differences in the effectiveness of a universal classroom-based preventive intervention. The Good Behavior Game (GBG) was delivered in Grade 1 and 2 in a randomized controlled trial including 759 students. Changes in externalizing and internalizing problems were modeled from Kindergarten through Grade 2. Unlike previous research, a person-centered approach was employed to examine critical combinations of child, peer, family, and demographic characteristics at baseline as moderators of intervention impact. Six subgroups were identified that differed both in baseline risk profiles and intervention responsiveness. The GBG prevented the development of externalizing and internalizing behavior among low-risk children, children with emotional problems, and victimized children. No positive intervention effects were found for children from dysfunctional families and children with combinations of behavioral and social risks. The study presented a novel approach to study subgroup differences in universal preventive interventions and provides first evidence that universal school-based programs may not be effective for children with more severe risks and risks at multiple levels.

Are boys better off with male and girls with female teachers? A multilevel investigation of measurement invariance and gender match in teacher-student relationship quality.

Although research consistently points to poorer teacher-student relationships for boys than girls, there are no studies that take into account the effects of teacher gender and control for possible measurement non-invariance across student and teacher gender. This study addressed both issues. The sample included 649 primary school teachers (182 men) and 1493 students (685 boys). Teachers completed a slightly adapted version of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale. The results indicated limited measurement non-invariance in teacher reports. Female teachers reported better (i.e., more close, less conflictual, and less dependent) relationships with students than male teachers. In addition, both male and female teachers reported more conflictual relationships with boys than with girls, and female teachers also reported less close relationships with boys than with girls. The findings challenge society's presumption that male teachers have better relationships with boys than women teachers.

Dynamics of teacher-student relationships: stability and change across elementary school and the influence on children's academic success.

This study modeled teacher-student relationship trajectories throughout elementary school to predict gains in achievement in an ethnic-diverse sample of 657 academically at-risk students (mean age = 6.57 years, SD = .39). Teacher reports of warmth and conflict were collected in Grades 1-5. Achievement was tested in Grades 1 and 6. For conflict, low-stable (normative), low-increasing, high-declining, and high-stable trajectories were found. For warmth, high-declining (normative) and low-increasing patterns were found. Children with early behavioral, academic, or social risks were underrepresented in the normative trajectory groups. Chronic conflict was most strongly associated with underachievement. Rising conflict but not declining Conflict coincided with underachievement. The probability of school failure increased as a function of the timing and length of time children were exposed to relational adversity.