Children’s drawings of student-teacher relationship quality: examining change over the first year of school.

ABSTRACT

The relationships students form with their teachers are critical to children's early school adjustment and later school success. While previous research has relied on teachers' single-point ratings of student-teacher relationship (STR) quality, this study included data provided by children and teachers at two time-points in the kindergarten year. Children's drawings of themselves and their teacher were coded using Fury, Carlson, and Sroufe's (1997) attachment-based scoring of Relational Negativity. Children's feelings about their teacher were rated on the School Feelings Questionnaire (Bowes et al., 2009). Teachers completed the Student Teacher Relationship Scale (Pianta, 2001) and Teacher Rating Scale of School Adjustment (Birch & Ladd, 1997). Results showed that Relational Negativity at the start of school aligned with teachers' STR ratings, but by the end of the year, children's and teachers' ratings had diverged. Children were twice as likely as teachers to express increased negativity. Possible explanations for different perceptions of STR are proposed.

KEYWORDS:

• Student-teacher relationships
• attachment
• drawings
• kindergarten
• starting school

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Notes on contributors

Elizabeth Murray

Elizabeth Murray is a Senior Lecturer in Early Childhood and Primary Education in the Faculty of Education, Charles Sturt University. Her research background is in children's transition and adjustment to school, focusing on wellbeing, parent-teacher partnerships, and teacher-child relationships. Elizabeth's research focuses on children's emotional wellbeing and coping strategies, the classroom supports teachers provide for children's adjustment and learning, and the extent to which children's learning readiness, prior-to-school experiences, and child and family characteristics influence their social, emotional, and academic success.

Linda J. Harrison

Linda Harrison is a Professorial Research Fellow in Early Childhood at Macquarie University and Adjunct Professor of Early Childhood, Charles Sturt University. Her research is grounded in a life-long interest in the relationships, wellbeing and learning of young children, and how quality early childhood pedagogy and practice can support optimal development. She has a particular interest in transitions and the use of drawings as a research methodology to include children's insights and reflections on their experiences.

Tania Trapolini

Dr Tania Trapolini is an accredited Clinical Psychologist with over 20 years' experience working in public and private sector clinical settings with adults, children and their families. Her areas of interest include perinatal mental health, mood and anxiety disorders, and trauma and complex presentations. Tania is trained in a number of specialist assessment and treatment modalities focussed on the parent-infant relationship.