A developmental cascade of early teacher-child relationships: implications for academic performance

UNCG Author/Contributor (non-UNCG co-authors, if there are any, appear on document)
Jason E. Boye (Creator)
Institution
The University of North Carolina at Greensboro (UNCG )
Web Site: http://library.uncg.edu/
Advisor
Susan P. Keane

Abstract: Kindergarten teacher-child relationships have been identified as important and salient contributors to child school success across multiple domains. However, less attention has focused on what early factors impact the development of a positive teacher-child relationship in kindergarten. This study presents a developmental cascade model that examines how the interaction of early maternal warmth and emotion regulation impacts the development of kindergarten-teacher child relationships, which in turn, impacts later academic performance. It was hypothesized that high levels of maternal warmth and adaptive emotion regulation at the transition to school (age 5) would each directly predict positive teacher-child relationships in kindergarten which in turn would predict academic performance concurrently and two years later. A series of structural equation models (SEM) were examined to test these hypotheses in a sample of children who participated in the ongoing longitudinal RIGHT Track project at ages 2, 4, 5, and 7 years. Results indicated that neither maternal warmth nor emotion regulation at 5 years predicted kindergarten teacher-child relationships. Four year adaptive emotion regulation; however, significantly predicted positive kindergarten teacher-child relationships. In addition, the kindergarten teacher-child relationship was associated with concurrent academic performance and had a significant indirect effect to second grade academic performance. Exploratory analyses indicated that maternal hostility at 5 years negatively predicted the kindergarten teacher-child relationship. Future research should consider additional child and parenting behaviors that may predict the development of kindergarten teacher-child relationships.

Additional Information

Publication
Dissertation
Language: English
Date: 2014
Keywords
Academic Performance, Emotion Regulation, Hostility, Teacher-child relationship, Warmth
Subjects
Teacher-student relationships
Kindergarten teachers
Child development
Socialization
Academic achievement $x Social aspects

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