We examined whether teacher–child racial congruence and child race moderated the association between children's emotion situation knowledge and the dimensions of teacher–child relationship quality (i.e., closeness, conflict, and dependency). We also investigated these dimensions as mediators linking emotion situation knowledge and later school readiness. Participants were 303 White and African American preschoolers and their teachers who were also racially diverse. For White preschoolers, teacher–child closeness was more likely and teacher–child conflict and dependency were less likely when their teachers matched them in race. For African American children, teacher–child conflict and dependency were more likely when their teachers matched them in race. Emotion situation knowledge and teacher–child closeness were positively related to later school readiness. Findings are discussed in the context of recommendations for policies and practices encouraging culturally responsive, equitable, and positive social–emotional instructional approaches that motivate, support, and sustain positive teacher–child relationships in early childhood classrooms.
This study investigated the extent to which associations between mothers' elaborated talk about mental states and preschoolers’ behavioral adaptation (i.e., social competence and internalizing and externalizing behavior) and school readiness were moderated by emotion situation knowledge. Families (N = 120) were mostly middle‐income and White and 70 of the preschoolers (M = 50.65 months, SD = 6.19) were boys. Results revealed a positive association between elaborated maternal mental state talk and social competence, but only for children average and high in emotion situation knowledge. For children low in emotion situation knowledge, there was a positive association between elaborated maternal mental state talk and internalizing behavior. There also was a negative relation between elaborated maternal mental state talk and school readiness for preschoolers low in emotion situation knowledge. Findings highlight the importance of considering emotion situation knowledge when examining associations between elaborated maternal mental state talk and young children’s social behavioral adaptation and readiness for school.
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