Conflictual relationships between kindergarten children and their teachers: Associations with child and classroom context variables

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Abstract

The focus of this study was on kindergarten children's reports of teacher–child relational conflict and the associations of the reported conflict with (a) child characteristics (gender, behavior problems, and academic achievement); (b) the quality of classroom practices (teacher instructional practices, transition-to-school activities, and perceptions of support provided by the school); (c) teachers' perceptions of the classroom and school relational climates; and (d) teachers' perceptions of workload stress. These variables were examined with a group of 103 economically disadvantaged children and their kindergarten teachers in 24 public schools. There was evidence that teacher–child conflict was related to problem behaviors, teachers' perceptions of workload stress, as well as classroom instructional practices and the classroom/school relational climate.

Section snippets

Early teacher–child conflict and school adjustment

In the last two decades, studies have increasingly documented that relational patterns between young children and their teachers have significant implications for school adjustment (e.g., Birch and Ladd, 1998, Howes et al., 1994, Pianta et al., 1997, Pianta et al., 1995, Saft and Pianta, 2001). As a result, there is growing recognition that research on teacher–child relationships is needed to advance our understanding of the circumstances under which children, particularly those from high-risk

Participants

I conducted this study in a midwestern, suburban, public school district. The final sample of 103 kindergarten children was drawn from 124 children who were prior Head Start attendees and who were participants in a national study of Head Start children's transition to public school (U.S. Department of Health and Human Services, 1996). This sample of 103 was recruited during the preschool year from a Head Start center that served approximately 133 children and families per year. Data from this

Descriptive statistics

Table 1 shows descriptive statistics for the variables of the study and Table 2 shows the matrix of bivariate correlations. Among the child variables, both problem behaviors and achievement were significantly related to conflict (Table 2). Children whose teachers rated them higher on the hyperactivity index of the CTRS were more likely to report conflict in the teacher–child relationship. Also, children with higher scores on the WJ-R battery (i.e., higher achievement) tended to report lower

Discussion

In this investigation, I examined associations between child-reported relational conflict and sets of child and classroom/school context variables. Of interest was the extent to which relationships between conflict and child variables, identified in studies of teacher- and observer-reported conflict, also would emerge in child-reported conflict. I evaluated the contributions of contextual correlates of teacher–child conflict while taking into account the effects of child variables such as sex,

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