Principal–teacher relationships:Dimensionality and measurement invariance of a measure for primary and secondary school teachers

This study explored the dimensionality and measurement invariance of a multidimensional measure for evaluating teachers’ perceptions of the quality of their relationships with principals at the dyadic level. Participants were 630 teachers (85.9% female) from 220 primary and 204 secondary schools across the Netherlands. Teachers completed the 10-item Principal–Teacher Relationship Scale (PTRS) for their principals. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) provided evidence for a two-factor model, including a relational Closeness and Conflict dimension. Additionally, multigroup CFA results indicated strong invariance of the PTRS across school type, teacher gender, and teaching experience. Last, secondary school teachers and highly experienced teachers reported lower levels of Closeness and higher levels of Conflict in the relationship with their principal compared to primary school teachers and colleagues with less experience. Accordingly, the PTRS can be considered a valid and reliable measure that adds to the methodological repertoire of educational leadership research by focusing on both positive and negative aspects of dyadic principal–teacher relationships

Drawings Tell the Difference:Student Characteristics and Student- Teacher Relationships in a Cross-Cultural Context

Student-teacher relationship drawings were employed to investigate how students’ mental representations of student-teacher relationships were affected by their gender, age, and shyness across the Netherlands and China. The sample included 752 third- to sixth-graders (48.5% boys; Mage = 9.96) from the Netherlands and 574 third- to- sixth-graders (53.7% boys; Mage = 11.48) from China. Students’ drawings were double-coded on eight relationship dimensions. Multiple group models showed that Chinese students’ drawings scored lower on anger/tension, role reversal, emotional distance/isolation, and global pathology but higher on vulnerability than those of Dutch students. Boys’ drawings displayed higher global pathology than girls’ drawings and this difference was larger in the Netherlands than in China. Other associations between student characteristics (gender, age, shyness) and drawing dimensions were equally strong across countries. As an implication, findings from Western countries may not necessarily generalize to students and teachers in Eastern countries. Drawing may be a promising method to further understand differences and similarities in the formation of student-teacher relationships across countries

Affective Student–Teacher Relationships and Students’ Engagement:A Cross–Cultural Comparison of China and The Netherlands

Ample evidence has been found for the association between affective, dyadic student–teacher relationships and students’ engagement with schoolwork in Western, individualistic countries. There are far fewer studies, however, examining this association in Eastern, collectivistic countries. As maintaining harmony in interpersonal relationships plays a crucial role in collectivistic countries, student–teacher relationships may even be more important in collectivistic countries than in individualistic countries. In the present study, we therefore investigated cross–cultural differences in the strength of associations between student–teacher relationship quality and students’ engagement based on data from the Netherlands (a Western country) and China (an Eastern country). The Dutch sample included 789 students (51.1% girls) and the Chinese sample included 588 students (52.9% girls) from grades 3 to 6 of elementary school. Students reported about the quality of their relationship with their teacher (closeness, conflict) and their behavioral and emotional engagement with schoolwork. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that the positive association between closeness and both behavioral and emotional engagement was stronger for the Chinese sample than for the Dutch sample. In contrast, the negative association between conflict and both behavioral and emotional engagement did not differ across countries. To conclude, closeness may be more relevant for Chinese students’ engagement than would be expected based on Western studies, whereas conflict seems to be equally harmful in both cultures. Therefore, developing relationship-focused interventions for Chinese teachers and students seems important, either by adapting Western programs or by developing new programs especially designed for Chinese schools

Principal–teacher relationships:Dimensionality and measurement invariance of a measure for primary and secondary school teachers

This study explored the dimensionality and measurement invariance of a multidimensional measure for evaluating teachers’ perceptions of the quality of their relationships with principals at the dyadic level. Participants were 630 teachers (85.9% female) from 220 primary and 204 secondary schools across the Netherlands. Teachers completed the 10-item Principal–Teacher Relationship Scale (PTRS) for their principals. Confirmatory factor analyses (CFA) provided evidence for a two-factor model, including a relational Closeness and Conflict dimension. Additionally, multigroup CFA results indicated strong invariance of the PTRS across school type, teacher gender, and teaching experience. Last, secondary school teachers and highly experienced teachers reported lower levels of Closeness and higher levels of Conflict in the relationship with their principal compared to primary school teachers and colleagues with less experience. Accordingly, the PTRS can be considered a valid and reliable measure that adds to the methodological repertoire of educational leadership research by focusing on both positive and negative aspects of dyadic principal–teacher relationships

Affective Student–Teacher Relationships and Students’ Engagement:A Cross–Cultural Comparison of China and The Netherlands

Ample evidence has been found for the association between affective, dyadic student–teacher relationships and students’ engagement with schoolwork in Western, individualistic countries. There are far fewer studies, however, examining this association in Eastern, collectivistic countries. As maintaining harmony in interpersonal relationships plays a crucial role in collectivistic countries, student–teacher relationships may even be more important in collectivistic countries than in individualistic countries. In the present study, we therefore investigated cross–cultural differences in the strength of associations between student–teacher relationship quality and students’ engagement based on data from the Netherlands (a Western country) and China (an Eastern country). The Dutch sample included 789 students (51.1% girls) and the Chinese sample included 588 students (52.9% girls) from grades 3 to 6 of elementary school. Students reported about the quality of their relationship with their teacher (closeness, conflict) and their behavioral and emotional engagement with schoolwork. Hierarchical linear modeling showed that the positive association between closeness and both behavioral and emotional engagement was stronger for the Chinese sample than for the Dutch sample. In contrast, the negative association between conflict and both behavioral and emotional engagement did not differ across countries. To conclude, closeness may be more relevant for Chinese students’ engagement than would be expected based on Western studies, whereas conflict seems to be equally harmful in both cultures. Therefore, developing relationship-focused interventions for Chinese teachers and students seems important, either by adapting Western programs or by developing new programs especially designed for Chinese schools

Drawings Tell the Difference:Student Characteristics and Student- Teacher Relationships in a Cross-Cultural Context

Student-teacher relationship drawings were employed to investigate how students’ mental representations of student-teacher relationships were affected by their gender, age, and shyness across the Netherlands and China. The sample included 752 third- to sixth-graders (48.5% boys; Mage = 9.96) from the Netherlands and 574 third- to- sixth-graders (53.7% boys; Mage = 11.48) from China. Students’ drawings were double-coded on eight relationship dimensions. Multiple group models showed that Chinese students’ drawings scored lower on anger/tension, role reversal, emotional distance/isolation, and global pathology but higher on vulnerability than those of Dutch students. Boys’ drawings displayed higher global pathology than girls’ drawings and this difference was larger in the Netherlands than in China. Other associations between student characteristics (gender, age, shyness) and drawing dimensions were equally strong across countries. As an implication, findings from Western countries may not necessarily generalize to students and teachers in Eastern countries. Drawing may be a promising method to further understand differences and similarities in the formation of student-teacher relationships across countries

Stimulating elementary school students’ self-regulated learning through high-quality interactions and relationships:A narrative review

One of the most important competencies to become a life-long learner is considered to be self-regulated learning (SRL). In this narrative review study, we describe research on the relationships between classroom- and dyad-level student-teacher interactions and the components of elementary students’ SRL. These components include metacognition and the regulation of cognition, motivation, behavior, and emotions. Three electronic databases were examined, which resulted in 30 studies that met our eligibility criteria. The results suggest that both well-organized and emotionally supportive classroom climates, in addition to high-quality instructional support, are associated with students’ metacognition. Results also show that associations between classroom-level interactions and the components of SRL that tap students’ behaviors and motivation are mixed. In contrast, at the dyad-level, higher quality teacher-student interactions were consistently found to be related to the motivational component of SRL. We also found a positive relationship with metacognition, but at the dyad level studies on the other components of SRL were hardly available. The review revealed a number of gaps in research on SRL, such as the paucity of studies on the regulation of cognitions and emotions, the overreliance on self-reports in the measurement of SRL, and the absence of cross-cultural research

Understanding the interplay between teacher self-efficacy, teacher–student interactions, and students’ self-regulated learning skills at different levels of classroom ecology.

Introduction: Studies pinpoint the importance of exploring factors in theclassroom environment that might foster students’ SRL-skills in various domains.This study explored specific teacher and classroom factors, including self-efficacyfor SRL-skills (TSE) and teacher–student interactions in relation to students’ selfregulated learning skills in various domains (metacognitive, motivational, andbehavioral). Additionally, the moderating role of teacher–student interactions inthe relationship between TSE and SRL-skills was examined.Methods: Third-to sixth grade students (N  =  1,278, 46.9% boys) from 63classrooms of Dutch elementary schools completed reports about theirmetacognitive, motivational, and behavioral SRL-skills. Teachers reported ontheir TSE for eight randomly selected students from their classes. In addition,the Classroom Assessment Scoring System was used to observe the quality ofteacher–student interactions.Results: Multilevel analyses generally revealed that individual students reportedbetter metacognitive, motivational, and behavioral SRL-skills when their teachersfelt efficacious in teaching SRL-skills. However, none of the associations atthe class level were significant. Moreover, when high-quality teacher–studentinteractions were observed, students reported lower levels of metacognitive,motivational, and behavioral SRL-skills. No moderating effect of teacher–student interactions on the relation between TSE and SRL-skills was found.Discussion: These findings show that specific measures of TSE at the appropriatelevel of analysis may help to better explain variation in TSE and students’ SRL-skills

Stimulating elementary school students’ self-regulated learning through high-quality interactions and relationships:A narrative review

One of the most important competencies to become a life-long learner is considered to be self-regulated learning (SRL). In this narrative review study, we describe research on the relationships between classroom- and dyad-level student-teacher interactions and the components of elementary students’ SRL. These components include metacognition and the regulation of cognition, motivation, behavior, and emotions. Three electronic databases were examined, which resulted in 30 studies that met our eligibility criteria. The results suggest that both well-organized and emotionally supportive classroom climates, in addition to high-quality instructional support, are associated with students’ metacognition. Results also show that associations between classroom-level interactions and the components of SRL that tap students’ behaviors and motivation are mixed. In contrast, at the dyad-level, higher quality teacher-student interactions were consistently found to be related to the motivational component of SRL. We also found a positive relationship with metacognition, but at the dyad level studies on the other components of SRL were hardly available. The review revealed a number of gaps in research on SRL, such as the paucity of studies on the regulation of cognitions and emotions, the overreliance on self-reports in the measurement of SRL, and the absence of cross-cultural research

Understanding the interplay between teacher self-efficacy, teacher–student interactions, and students’ self-regulated learning skills at different levels of classroom ecology.

Introduction: Studies pinpoint the importance of exploring factors in theclassroom environment that might foster students’ SRL-skills in various domains.This study explored specific teacher and classroom factors, including self-efficacyfor SRL-skills (TSE) and teacher–student interactions in relation to students’ selfregulated learning skills in various domains (metacognitive, motivational, andbehavioral). Additionally, the moderating role of teacher–student interactions inthe relationship between TSE and SRL-skills was examined.Methods: Third-to sixth grade students (N  =  1,278, 46.9% boys) from 63classrooms of Dutch elementary schools completed reports about theirmetacognitive, motivational, and behavioral SRL-skills. Teachers reported ontheir TSE for eight randomly selected students from their classes. In addition,the Classroom Assessment Scoring System was used to observe the quality ofteacher–student interactions.Results: Multilevel analyses generally revealed that individual students reportedbetter metacognitive, motivational, and behavioral SRL-skills when their teachersfelt efficacious in teaching SRL-skills. However, none of the associations atthe class level were significant. Moreover, when high-quality teacher–studentinteractions were observed, students reported lower levels of metacognitive,motivational, and behavioral SRL-skills. No moderating effect of teacher–student interactions on the relation between TSE and SRL-skills was found.Discussion: These findings show that specific measures of TSE at the appropriatelevel of analysis may help to better explain variation in TSE and students’ SRL-skills