Teachers’ competence promote close relationships to children with externalising problems and conflictual relationships

The study investigates how kindergarten teachers’ competence affects relationships with children who have external behavioural problems in kindergarten. The study focuses on how closeness between kindergarten teachers and children can help reduce behavioural problems over time. In addition, the study explores whether kindergarten teachers’ perceived competence regarding children’s social and behavioural development moderates the relationship between closeness and external behavioural problems. The research questions are: 1) How do external behaviour problems affect children’s relationships with kindergarten teachers? 2) How do kindergarten teachers moderate this relationship over time?

The results show that closeness between kindergarten teachers and children at 5 years of age is associated with fewer external behavioural problems in children at 8 years of age. Children who had behavioural problems at age 3 were at greater risk of having lower closeness with the kindergarten teachers at age 5. However, kindergarten teachers who felt confident in managing children’s behavioural problems reduced this risk and fostered better relationships, particularly for children exhibiting challenging behaviour.

The study uses a longitudinal design and analyses data from 7478 children in the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa). The data were collected through questionnaires completed by mothers when the children were 3, 5, and 8 years old, as well as by kindergarten teachers who assessed their relationship with the children at age 5. Structural equation models (SEM) were used to investigate the connections between the kindergarten teachers’ perceived closeness to the children and the children’s external behavioural problems over time.

Wilhelmsen, T., Alexandersen, N., Røysamb, E., Moser, T., Brandlistuen, R. E., & Wang, M. V. (2022). Teachers’ competence promote close relationships to children with externalising problems and conflictual relationships. Educational Psychology, 42(6), 673–693.