Does Child Temperament Predict Student-Teacher Relationship Quality?

ASU Author/Contributor (non-ASU co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Heather Ann Holt (Creator)
Institution
Appalachian State University (ASU )
Web Site: https://library.appstate.edu/
Advisor
Sandra Gagnon

Abstract: A wealth of evidence attests to the critical role that student-teacher relationships play in a variety of developmental outcomes for children. These relationships are complex and multifaceted, influenced by factors both within and external to the child. The current study examines the relationships between child temperament and student-teacher relationship quality in a sample of 47 preschool children. Parents provided ratings of their preschool children’s temperaments on the Behavioral Style Questionnaire. Teachers reported their perceptions of the quality of the relationships they experienced with students on the Student- Teacher Relationship Scale. It was expected that various individual and combined child temperament traits would predict student-teacher relationship quality. Results of multiple regression analysis generally did not support the hypothesis, although there was some support for an association between the interaction between two clusters of temperament traits – Social Response/ Mood (Mood, Adaptability, Approach) and Stimulation/ Energy (Threshold of Responses, Intensity of Responses, and Distractibility) – and Closeness in the student-teacher relationship. The results provide support for existing literature that questions the role of temperament in attachment and subsequent adult-child relationships. The findings indicate the need to assume a multifaceted, ecological approach to understanding the variables that predict student-teacher relationship quality, which considers the contributions of environmental variables, as well as the interactions between various within-child and environmental variables.

Additional Information

Publication
Thesis
Holt, H.A. (2010). Does Child Temperament Predict Student-Teacher Relationship Quality? Unpublished master's thesis. Appalachian State University, Boone, NC.
Language: English
Date: 2010

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