Teacher–Student Relationship Quality and Children's Bullying Experiences With Peers: Reflecting on the Mesosystem

Abstract

Drawing from social–ecological systems theory, the authors argue that -current research on childhood bullying would benefit from analyses that consider the -mesosystem—specifically, how teacher–student relationships can influence -children's bullying experiences. The authors provide two theoretical conceptions for how children's peer interactions are implicitly shaped by teacher–student relationship quality: attachment and social referral. Implications for practice, with an emphasis on developing teachers' social–emotional competencies to strengthen positive teacher–student relationships, are proposed.

Key words:

• bullying/victimization
• healthy relationships
• peer interactions
• professional development
• social ecology
• teacher education/certification
• teacher—student relationships