The effects of teacher–child racial congruence, child race, and emotion situation knowledge on teacher–child relationships and school readiness

Abstract

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.

Cross-lagged Relationships among Interpersonal Closeness, Early Language Skills, and Emotion Understanding in Toddlers

“…Some other studies have explored the role of children's emotion understanding in nurturing teacher-child relationships. Garner and Mahatmya (2015) and Garner et al (2021) consistently showed that high levels of emotion knowledge were related to teacher-child closeness in 4-year-olds, and this association was moderated by the children's and the teachers' races. It is noteworthy that prior work has mostly tested the unidirectional effect either from teacher-child relationships to emotion understanding or from emotion understanding to teacher-child relationships.…”

A mixed‐methods approach to identify elements of culturally‐attuned teacher−student relationship interventions

“…Ecological incongruence between home and school contexts can heighten the chances for misunderstandings between teachers and students regarding emotions, behaviors, and perspectives (e.g., Garner et al, 2021; Halberstadt et al, 2022). These discrepancies could potentially exacerbate relational challenges between teachers and students in ways that are distinct from mere teacher bias.…”