The Roles of Student-Teacher Relationship Quality and Classroom Self-Regulatory Supports for Children’s Self-Regulatory Skills in Kindergarten and First Grade

ABSTRACT

Research Findings: The current study aimed to explore the independent and interactive roles of individual student-teacher relationship quality and classroom-level self-regulatory supports in kindergarten for children’s self-regulatory skills in kindergarten and first grade. We did so using multiple measures of children’s self-regulation, drawn from multiple sources, and a relatively new measure of classroom-level supports for self-regulation. Our sample included 726 low-income kindergartners in Tulsa, Oklahoma. Controlling for children’s fall of kindergarten self-regulatory skills, student-teacher relationship quality in kindergarten was associated with children’s self-regulation at the spring of kindergarten and again at the fall of first grade, but classroom-level self-regulatory supports in kindergarten were never significantly associated with children’s self-regulation. Overall, associations between student-teacher relationships and children’s self-regulation were stronger and more consistently significant for student-teacher conflict than closeness, and for teacher-reported than directly assessed or assessor-rated self-regulation. They did not, however, vary by classroom self-regulatory supports. Practices and Policy: Results affirm the primacy of student-teacher relationships for children’s self-regulatory development across the transition into formal schooling, regardless of the quality of classroom-level supports for self-regulation. Teacher training and professional development programs should equip teachers with strategies and resources that support their ability to develop warm, responsive relationships with individual students.

Disclosure Statement

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

Supplementary Material

Supplemental data for this article can be accessed online at https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2024.2360870.

Additional information

Funding

This study was supported by grants from the Heising-Simons Foundation [Grant #s 2016-107 and 2017-329], the Foundation for Child Development [Grant #GU-03-2017], the Spencer Foundation [Grant #201800034], and National Institute of Child Health and Development [Grant #R01HD092324]. Data collection was also supported by the George Kaiser Family Foundation and the University Strategic Organization Initiative at the University of Oklahoma. All errors are the responsibility of the authors.