The Validity of Narratives for Understanding Children’s Perceptions of the Teacher–Child Relationship for Preschoolers Who Display Elevated Disruptive Behaviors

ABSTRACT

The links between a positive teacher-child relationship and young children’s academic and social-emotional development have been well established, particularly for children with disruptive behaviors. However, less is known about children’s views of the teacher-child relationship and how these representations relate to other established measures. Using a sample of 157 preschoolers with elevated disruptive behaviors, the current study assessed preschoolers’ representations of the teacher-child relationship by adapting a narrative procedure and a coding scheme from the parent-child attachment literature. Children’s representations as assessed through their narratives were internally consistent and were modestly associated with established measures of the teacher-child relationship. Offering additional support of validity, children’s representations had implications for their engagement in tasks, such that children with more negative and less emotionally positive representations were more dependent on positive interactions with their teachers to remain oriented to tasks. Results add support to the importance of positive teacher-child interactions for children with behavioral difficulties and highlight the benefit of using representational measures to understand children’s views of the teacher-child relationship.

Acknowledgments

We extend our gratitude to the teachers, parents, and children who invited us into their classrooms.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by the Institute of Education Sciences, U.S. Department of Education, through Grant No. R324A100215 awarded to the University of Virginia. The opinions expressed are our own and do not represent the views of the funders.