Recent trends in research on teacher–child relationships

Abstract

Theoretical and empirical work on relationships between teachers and children relies on developmental systems theory as the foundational conceptual model, drawing heavily from basic work in attachment as well as research on social development. Recently, the focus on relational processes in effort to support children's development in the classroom has proliferated, with multiple disciplines and fields engaging in research on teacher–child relationship quality to understand and improve the experiences and learning of students. This paper updates the conceptual framework and continues the necessary integration between disciplines by exploring three areas of research: (1) concordance between children's relationships with teachers and parents; (2) the moderating role of teacher–child relationships for the development of at-risk children; and (3) training teachers from a relational perspective. Each of the three areas of research on teacher–child relationships is examined in light of recent findings and considers implications for understanding the nature and impact of relationships between teachers and children.

Keywords:

• teacher–child relationships
• parent–child relationships
• at-risk children
• training teachers
• development

Acknowledgements

The development of this paper was supported in part by a grant awarded to Dr. Robert Pianta and colleagues by the Institute of Education Sciences, US Department of Education, through Grant R305B040049 to the University of Virginia. The opinions expressed are those of the authors and do not represent views of the US Department of Education.