Abstract
The current study investigated the quality of teacher-child relationships in the prediction of social and emotional competence of preschool age children. Fifty-three students from eight preschools participated in this study. A quantitative survey design was employed to collect data through teacher completion of the Student-Teacher Relationships Scale (STRS; Pianta, 2001) and parent completion of the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Scale: The Short Form (SCBE-30; LaFreniere & Dumas, 1996) and Demographics Survey. The Student-Teacher Relationship Scale was accessed online by the primary preschool teachers’ through Survey Monkey. The Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation Scale and Demographic Survey were sent to parents via Survey Monkey, but hard copies were also supplied in either English or Spanish (the parent preferred language). Correlational analyses were used to explore associations between the quality of teacher-child relationships and student social and emotional competence, as well as demographic variables and the quality of teacher-child relationships. Results indicate few significant relationships between parent demographics and quality of teacher-child relationships or children’s social and emotional competence. However, teacher-child conflict is significantly correlated to child anxiety-withdrawal, with parent education as a possible mediator. Future research should include a larger sample and observations to enhance current literature and theory of teacher-child relationships.