Citation

Bosman RJ, Roorda DL, van der Veen I, Koomen HMY. J. Sch. Psychol. 2018; 68: 177-194.

Affiliation

Research Institute of Child Development and Education, University of Amsterdam, P.O. Box 15776, 1001 NG Amsterdam, The Netherlands. Electronic address: H.M.Y.Koomen@uva.nl.

Copyright

(Copyright © 2018, Society for the Study of School Psychology, Publisher Elsevier Publishing)

DOI

10.1016/j.jsp.2018.03.006

PMID

29861027

Abstract

The present study used a person-centered approach to identify teacher-student relationship trajectories from kindergarten to sixth grade in a Dutch sample (N = 1300). Teachers reported about relationships with individual students (closeness, conflict, and dependency) in kindergarten, grade 3, and grade 6, and about externalizing behaviors in kindergarten. Students were tested for verbal ability in kindergarten, and completed math and reading tests and questionnaires about task motivation and self-efficacy in sixth grade. Latent class growth analyses revealed three trajectories for closeness: high-stable (normative), very high-decreasing, and moderate-increasing. For conflict, low-stable (normative), low-increasing, and high-decreasing trajectories were found. For dependency, a low-decreasing (normative) and a low-increasing trajectory were found. Boys, students with lower levels of verbal ability, and students with more externalizing behavior were overrepresented in non-normative trajectories. Furthermore, students with low-increasing levels of teacher-student dependency scored lower on achievement tests and reported lower motivation in sixth grade compared to students with a normative trajectory.

Copyright © 2018 Society for the Study of School Psychology. Published by Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.

Language: en

Keywords

Academic adjustment; Externalizing behavior; Latent class growth analysis; Motivation; Teacher-student relationships