Abstract
The current study aims to examine the way in which teachers’ and children’s perceptions about their relationships influence children’s emergent literacy skills. Participants were 913 children and 114 kindergarten teachers within 72 preschool centers from Greece. The measures used were the Student–Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS), the Child Appraisal of the Relationship with the Teacher Scale (CARTS), and the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R). Results of multiple regression analyses showed that teacher–child closeness and children’s age were positively associated with children’s receptive language skills, whereas teacher–child dependency was negatively associated with children’s receptive language skills. Collectively, findings highlight the importance of supportive teacher–child relationships and their impact on child’s language development.
Résumé
L’étude actuelle vise à examiner la manière dont les perceptions des enseignants et des enfants sur leurs relations influencent les compétences émergentes en littératie des enfants. Les participants étaient 913 enfants et 114 enseignants de maternelle dans 72 centres préscolaires de Grèce. Les mesures utilisées étaient Student–Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS), Child Appraisal of the Relationship with the Teacher Scale (CARTS) et Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test-Revised (PPVT-R). Les résultats des analyses de régression multiple ont montré que la proximité enseignant-enfant et l'âge des enfants étaient positivement associés aux compétences langagières réceptives des enfants, tandis que la dépendance enseignant-enfant était associée négativement aux compétences langagières réceptives des enfants. Collectivement, les résultats soulignent l'importance des relations entre enseignant encourageant et enfant, et leur impact sur le développement du langage de l'enfant.
Resumen
El estudio actual tiene como objetivo examinar la forma en que las percepciones de los maestros y los niños sobre sus relaciones influyen en las habilidades de alfabetización emergentes de los niños. Los participantes fueron 913 niños y 114 maestros de jardín de infantes de 72 preescolares centros de Grecia. Las medidas utilizadas fueron la Student – Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS), la Child Appraisal of the Relationship Scale (CARTS) y el Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test – Revised (PPVT-R). Los análisis de regresión múltiple mostraron que la cercanía entre maestro y niño y la edad de los niños se asociaron positivamente con las habilidades del lenguaje receptivo de los niños, mientras que la dependencia entre maestro y niño se asoció negativamente con las habilidades lingüísticas receptivas de los niños. Colectivamente, los hallazgos resaltan la importancia del apoyo de las relaciones entre maestro y niño y su impacto en el desarrollo del lenguaje del niño.
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Acknowledgements
We have greatly valued teachers’ participation in this research study and their willingness to share about their experiences.
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This work was supported by the Hellenic Foundation for Research and Innovation under the HFRI PhD Fellowship grant (Scholarship Code:1056).
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All authors contributed to the study conception and design. AV and AG organized the database. AV and NT performed the statistical analysis. All authors wrote sections of the manuscript. All authors contributed to manuscript revision, read, and approved the submitted version.
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The authors declare that the research was conducted in the absence of any commercial or financial relationships that could be construed as a potential conflict of interest.
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The ethical approval was provided from the Greek National Educational Policy Institute (Official ethics committee of the Greek Ministry of Education). Protocol number of the license approval: Φ15/72273/136296/Δ1. Written informed consent to participate in this study was provided by the participants’ legal guardian/parents.
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Vatou, A., Gregoriadis, A., Tsigilis, N. et al. Quality of Teacher–Child Relationships: An Exploration of its Effect on Children’s Emergent Literacy Skills. IJEC 55, 279–294 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-022-00325-y
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DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s13158-022-00325-y