Elsevier

Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

Volume 31, Issue 6, November–December 2010, Pages 428-438
Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology

Young children's perceptions of teacher–child relationships: An evaluation of two instruments and the role of child gender in kindergarten

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.appdev.2010.07.006Get rights and content

Abstract

The psychometric qualities of two instruments that measure children's perceptions of teacher–child relationships were evaluated in a sample of kindergartners (N = 150): The Young Children's Appraisals of Teacher Support (Y-CATS) and the Kindergartner–Teacher Interaction Computer (KLIC) test. On the Y-CATS, children judged propositions on a dichotomous response format. On the KLIC, children evaluated pictures according to a two-step response procedure to obtain a 4-point scale. Furthermore, these instruments were employed to explore gender differences in the associations between the teacher–child relationship and indices of maladaptive behavior. Teachers completed measures of relationship quality and children's behavior problems. A three-dimensional structure of the Y-CATS (Warmth, Conflict, and Autonomy Support) was found, whereas the KLIC's structure was unidimensional. The KLIC showed high reliability but stronger evidence was obtained for the validity of the Y-CATS. Consistent with attachment-based research, the results indicated that children display gender-typical problem behavior when having non-close teacher–child relationships.

Introduction

Teacher–child relationships have been widely acknowledged as an important correlate of children's school readiness and subsequent school success. It has been demonstrated that children entering school adapt more easily when they are successful in forming positive relations (e.g., Birch & Ladd, 1997). Supportive teacher–child relationships facilitate the mastery of skills necessary for a successful school career and there is compelling evidence that relationship quality affects children's cognitive and social–emotional outcomes (Hamre and Pianta, 2001, O'Connor and McCartney, 2007, Pianta et al., 1995, Pianta and Stuhlman, 2004). For children at risk of school failure, a positive teacher–child relationship constitutes a protective factor, whereas a discordant teacher–child relationship exacerbates risk (Baker, 1999, Hughes et al., 1999, Ladd and Burgess, 2001, Meehan et al., 2003, Pianta et al., 1995, Silver et al., 2005). These findings imply that the quality of interpersonal teacher–child relations can be viewed both as a concurrent indicator of children's school adjustment and a factor either promoting or hindering children's future development (e.g., Hamre & Pianta, 2001).

It should be noted, however, that in preschool and the early school years most evidence is limited to teacher reports of teacher–child relationship quality. Little is known about the meanings that young children attribute to their relationships with teachers, and the developmental significance of children's interpersonal experiences. Interviews with elementary school children confirm that children want to experience emotionally and cognitively supportive relationships with their teachers (Daniels & Perry, 2003). Considering that relationships are dyadic constructs, we argue that an understanding of both teachers' and young children's relationship perceptions early in school is critically needed.

Researchers are in the early stages of developing measures that assess young children's perceptions of teacher–child relationships (Harrison et al., 2007, Mantzicopoulos and Neuharth-Pritchett, 2003, Murray et al., 2008). In this study, we contribute to these efforts by investigating the psychometric qualities of two child instruments that share the same measurement aim but have different item and administration formats. In addition, we examine the differential significance of the teacher–child relationship for boys and girls.

Guided by attachment theory, research on teacher–child relationships has primarily relied on assessments based on teachers' perceptions. A significant body of that work has used the Student–Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS; Pianta, 2001), a measure that has empirically documented a 3-dimensional structure for teacher–student relationships. Key relational dimensions are closeness (the degree of warmth and trust), conflict (discordant and coercive interactions), and dependency (overly dependent and clingy behavior of the child). The STRS has been validated in Pianta's own research and has been used in independent studies investigating academic and adjustment outcomes with diverse samples (Birch and Ladd, 1997, Kesner, 2000, Koomen et al., 2007).

However, reliance on teacher reports may limit our understanding of teacher–child relationships. Teacher reports are likely to reflect a professional stance based on experiences with many children, including role perceptions (i.e., being a teacher, caregiver, and socializer) and beliefs about how children should relate to adults and teachers (Pianta, 1999). Moreover, reports on the STRS appear colored by teachers' psychological functioning. For instance, teachers with lower efficacy beliefs and higher levels of depressive feelings tend to report more conflictual relationships with preschoolers than could be expected based on levels of problem behavior exhibited by the children (Hamre, Pianta, Downer, & Mashburn, 2008). Child reports, on the other hand, may be largely driven by children's emerging understandings of the degree of trust and warmth in the relationship. Generalized expectations about the psychological availability of adults based on experiences with other caregivers are likely to play a role. On the basis of attachment theory, it is believed that both teacher and child perceptions of the shared relationship are influenced by a relational history with significant others (Pianta, Hamre, & Stuhlman, 2003). Both teachers and children construct internal working models (IWMs) of the teacher–child relationship that function as frameworks for interpreting and understanding relationships with others (Bowlby, 1969, 1982). These internalized models are rooted in a social history and contain generalized feelings, cognitions, and expectations about interpersonal relationships (Pianta et al., 2003). This implies that a child and a teacher may appraise their relationship quality differently in the face of shared interpersonal experiences. Evidence suggests that teacher and student reports are related to their concurrent relationships or relationship history with other caregivers (Howes and Hamilton, 1992, Kesner, 2000). Further, the few recent studies that have assessed children's views report modest teacher–child agreement in both early and late grade schools, and even when parallel assessments of teacher and child perspectives were employed (Harrison et al., 2007, Mantzicopoulos and Neuharth-Pritchett, 2003, Murray et al., 2008, Rey et al., 2007, Valiente et al., 2008). Importantly, though teacher–child convergence is small, both teacher and child reports do make a unique contribution in the prediction of cross-year changes in adjustment (Hughes & Villarreal, 2008).

To understand children's behavior towards teachers, insight into children's understanding and perceptions of their relationship with their teacher is vital because IWMs of relationships guide behavior in dyadic interactions with others (Bowlby, 1969, 1982). This contention is supported by research that showed how reports of 9- to 13-year-old children about the trustworthiness and psychological availability of teachers are related to their social responding and stress reactivity to negative interpersonal events (Little & Kobak, 2003).

Together, these findings underscore that teacher reports cannot substitute children's own accounts. Instead, insight into child perceptions is critical to understanding children's sense of security as well as behavior in teacher–child interactions. In this study we contribute to this line of research by investigating two new child-report measures of the teacher–student relationship.

To our knowledge, only a handful of studies have attempted to investigate the perceptions of 5- to 7-year-old children about teacher–child relationships. Three studies share similar orientations, grounded in attachment research but have focused on different key relational dimensions and have employed different test formats. Mantzicopoulos and Neuharth-Pritchett (2003) developed the Young Children's Appraisals of Teacher Support (Y-CATS) to assess young children's perceptions of teacher–child relationships. Using a dichotomous response format, the researchers asked children to indicate agreement or disagreement with an item (e.g., My teacher likes me) by placing a card in either a mailbox (true) or trashcan (untrue). There was support for three hypothesized dimensions that largely correspond with the theoretical constructs underlying teachers' reports. Warmth reflected whether the child feels cared for and valued. Conflict referred to perceived harshness and criticism of the teacher. Autonomy Support represented appraisals of teacher behaviors that stimulate children to pursue their own choices and interests. Children's reports were modestly associated with teacher-rated relationship quality and school adjustment measures (Mantzicopoulos, 2005, Mantzicopoulos and Neuharth-Pritchett, 2003). More recently, the Y-CATS was used to examine kindergartners' perceptions of support for learning and conflict during science lessons. Children with high motivation for science learning reported the most support and the least conflict and negativity from teachers, as confirmed by observational data (Patrick, Mantzicopoulos, Samarapungavan, & French, 2008).

Murray et al. (2008) focused on different forms of teacher support and used an adapted version of the My Family and Friends—Child (MFF-C) with a two-step response format. Children were first asked to affirm (‘yes’) or deny (‘no’) whether their teacher provided a certain type of support. When the answer was ‘yes’, children were asked to indicate the amount of support on a large picture of a barometer that contained four levels ranging from ‘not at all’ to ‘a lot’. Only the total scale was both reliable and modestly associated with children's school liking, but unrelated to teacher-rated relationship quality.

In contrast to these two studies, Harrison et al. (2007) focused on relational negativity. They used an indirect approach and examined young children's drawings of the self and teacher. The results showed modest teacher–child agreement and moderate associations with children's school liking, adjustment problems, and competencies.

Finally, Valeski and Stipek (2001) used self-systems theory to frame the development of a measure of young children's feelings about school (FAS). The FAS included a reliable three-item subscale for the assessment of child-perceived teacher caring. Children's responses were assessed on a 1 to 5 Likert-type scale that was illustrated with five bars of increasing size. The subscale was modestly related to teacher-reported relationship quality in first grade; only a marginally significant correlation was found in kindergarten.

Whereas all measures tapped into affective qualities of the teacher–child relationship, only the Y-CATS clearly differentiated between warmth and conflict, and was constructed along a three-dimensional framework that was theoretically consistent with that found in teacher reports. Also, relatively good support was obtained for the reliability and validity of its subscales in a sample of Head Start children. However, the factor structure was examined using common factor analysis for which conclusions are restricted to the sample collected (Field, 2009). Research in different samples is needed to allow for generalization of the results. We pursued this goal with a sample of Dutch children. Also, we examined stability over time to provide additional support for the measure's reliability.

It could be argued that the Y-CATS obtains a relatively rough measure of children's perceptions because it utilizes a dichotomous response format (i.e., true or untrue). This may account for the relatively limited variability in mean subscale scores and the negatively skewed distributions. However, although a 3- or 4-point scale could be more sensitive to variations in children's interpersonal experiences, 5- to 6-year-old children have a tendency to respond at the extremes of Likert-type scales (Chambers & Johnston, 2002). A solution would be to adopt a two-stage process by first presenting the child with two opposing statements representing the opposite ends of a continuum (e.g., My teacher likes me versus My teacher does not like me). After being selected by the child, the statement is followed by a dichotomous response option to obtain a finer assessment of the child's perception. This two-stage procedure has been successfully used in research on young children's self-concept (PSPCSA; Harter & Pike, 1984). In addition to the above-noted considerations, it has been argued that children's understanding of the test items could be improved when items are presented together with corresponding pictures (Eder, 1990, Eiser et al., 2000).

To address these issues, we included a new measure of children's perceptions of relationship quality that was entitled in Dutch: Kleuter–Leerkracht Interactie Computer test or KLIC when abbreviated (English translation: Kindergartner–Teacher Interaction Computer test; Van Dijk et al., 2006). On the KLIC, children evaluate photographs of teacher–child interactions according to a two-step response procedure. Photographs represent emotional closeness and teacher support (e.g., My teacher always listens to me), conflict (e.g., My teacher often gets angry), and independence versus dependency (e.g., My teacher helps me; see Appendix A for detailed information). Thus, we sought to examine the factor structure Y-CATS using a Dutch sample of kindergartners and to explore the psychometric properties of the KLIC. We further aimed to advance understanding of gender differences in young children's relationship perceptions.

Gender differences play an important role in interpersonal relationships, with preschool girls being more nurturing and oriented towards social relationships than boys (Maccoby, 1998, Zahn Waxler et al., 2008). Studies based on teacher reports suggest that girls, compared to boys, experience less conflict and more closeness (e.g., Baker, 2006, Birch and Ladd, 1997, Hamre and Pianta, 2001). However, there is limited evidence on whether kindergarten boys and girls also hold differential beliefs about their relationships with teachers. Findings from studies using the Y-CATS are mixed. In one study (Mantzicopoulos & Neuharth-Pritchett, 2003) boys judged their relationship with teachers as more conflictual than girls but no differences were found in a later study (Mantzicopoulos, 2005).

There is some evidence that the developmental significance of teacher–child relationships is different for boys and girls. Recently, Ewing and Taylor (2009) discussed two theoretical perspectives that could explain these gender differences. The gender role socialization perspective predicts that girls are more sensitive to relationship quality because they are more socially oriented (Maccoby, 1998). This implies that girls profit more from close teacher–child relationships but also that they will be more hindered by poor relationships. According to the academic risk perspective especially children at risk for school failure will be particularly sensitive to the social environment (Hamre & Pianta, 2001). Hence, teacher–child relationships may have a larger impact on the school adjustment of boys (who tend to be at higher risk for school-related problems) compared to girls. A third perspective, based on attachment research, draws attention to sex-stereotypic behavior in poor child–caregiver relationships. Turner (1991) argues that insecurity or ‘lack of confidence’ in interpersonal relationships may be manifested in gender-typical problem behavior, that is withdrawn behavior for girls and disruptive or ‘acting out’ behavior for boys. Her research showed that insecure mother–child attachment was related to disruptive behavior in boys but to social inhibition in girls. Moreover, no gender differences in maladaptive behavior were found for children with secure attachments.

Few studies have examined gender differences in the association between teachers' perceptions of relationship quality and school adjustment. In line with the gender role socialization theory, positive relationships more strongly predicted social skills, work habits, and school competence for girls than boys (Baker, 2006, Ewing and Taylor, 2009, Hamre and Pianta, 2001). Conflict was found to be correlated with boys' but not girls' school competence as predicted by the academic risk perspective (Ewing and Taylor, 2009, Hamre and Pianta, 2001). However, Hamre and Pianta found this in upper elementary grades only. Furthermore, consistent with the hypothesis of sex-stereotypic behavior in unfavorable relationships, Ewing and Taylor showed that boys were rated as more antisocial than girls when having conflictual relationships with their teacher. However, there was no evidence that internalizing behavior was more typical for girls than boys with poor relationships. Because these studies were conducted entirely from the teacher's perspective, an important step forward would be to examine those theoretical perspectives on gender differences using data based on children's relational views.

The overarching goal of this research was to obtain a child instrument of teacher–child relationships for young children with emerging reading abilities. A descriptive study was therefore conducted to investigate the psychometric properties of two relatively new instruments and to address concurrent linkages between kindergarten children's relationship perceptions and indicators of socio-emotional malfunctioning. The first goal of the present study was to investigate the psychometric qualities of the KLIC and the Y-CATS. The sample was part of larger Dutch research project. This sample was considered appropriate because it is representative of the Western culture like the US sample in which the Y-CATS was first evaluated. In contrast to the US sample, different schools were included of which relatively few were located in disadvantaged neighborhoods. Also, we included kindergartners only, in order to obtain a more homogeneous sample of children with similar classroom experiences. In the Netherlands, all children attend two years of kindergarten (ages 4–6). Similar to US kindergarten classes, children learn basic social–behavioral and academic skills in preparation of the transition to formal schooling that starts in grade 1. Because kindergarten lasts for two years, many children had already spent about one year with the same teacher.

Exploratory factor analysis (EFA) was employed to examine the factor structure of the instruments because the instruments were in the first phases of development. We evaluated the internal consistencies of the resulting factors and examined test–retest reliabilities to assess stability over time. To obtain support for convergent validity, we examined teacher–child agreement and associations with teacher-rated socio-emotional maladjustment (Aggression, ADHD, and Social Inhibition). In line with previous research, modest associations were expected.

Our second and third goals were to explore: (a) sex differences in children's perceptions of teacher–child relationships; and (b) whether the association between relationship quality and problem behaviors was moderated by sex. Because insufficient support exists for the three perspectives about the moderating role of sex explained earlier, particularly when children's relational views are considered, three sets of competing hypotheses were examined. First, according to the gender role socialization perspective, stronger associations were expected between girls' relationship perceptions and problem behaviors (i.e., Aggression, ADHD, and Social Inhibition). Second, consistent with the academic risk perspective, stronger associations were hypothesized between boys' relationship perceptions and Aggression, and ADHD, and Social Inhibition. Third, considering the hypothesis of sex-stereotypic behavior in poor child–caregiver relationships, we expected girls' perceptions of non-close or conflictual relationships to have stronger associations with Social Inhibition, whereas boys' relationship perceptions were predicted to be related to Aggression and ADHD.

Section snippets

Sample

The sample included 150 kindergarten children (54% boys) and their 16 (lead) teachers (one male1) from 6 regular primary education schools in the Netherlands. The mean age of the children was 69.5 months (SD = 6.2). The mean age of the teachers was 44.9 years (SD

Evaluation of children's test understanding

According to the examiners, the large majority of children (87.9%) showed good to very good understanding of the Y-CATS (M = 3.46, SD = .79). Poor (3.4%) and moderate (8.7%) understanding was attributed to (a) verbal difficulties (6.7%), (b) inattentiveness (2%), (c) difficulties with the test method (15.3%), and (d) other/not specified (76%). The majority of children (84.6%) showed good to very good understanding of the test method of the KLIC as well (M = 3.40, SD = .79). According to the

Discussion

Our research contributes to the growing literature on young children's relational perspectives in several important ways. First, we add to the knowledge base by providing evidence on the psychometric qualities of two instruments designed for use with young children. On the Y-CATS, children responded to propositions about the teacher as being ‘true’ or ‘untrue’ for them by placing small cards in either a safe or a trashcan. The KLIC was a newly developed computer test that employed photographs

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