This is a preprint of a study that examined the relations between closeness and conflict in the teacher-child relationship in preschool and children’s behavior problems, social skills, and executive function (EF) in kindergarten, and examined if these relations are moderated by parental education. The study also explored associations between teacher-child closeness and conflict and the subscales of children’s behavior problems and social skills. The sample consisted of 126 preschool children (M = 56.70 months, SD = 3.89). Regression analyses revealed that teacher-child conflict was related to poorer social skills in children, specifically lower assertion, lower engagement, and lower cooperation. Additionally, as conflict in the teacher-child relationship increased, EF decreased for children whose parents have a lower level of education. There was also a marginally significant moderator of the relation between teacher-child closeness and behavior problems where high parent education served as a protective factor for low levels of teacher-child closeness. Implications for future research are discussed.

The current study examines whether parent ratings of children’s numeracy skills are skill- and domain-specific to inform how to best utilize parent ratings in research. Children in the sample (N=129) ranged from 3.07 to 5.95 years old and 52.3% were male. Most (81%) of the children were White. Parents were asked to rate their children’s counting, simple arithmetic, and numeral identification skills. Children were directly assessed on these skills, as well as their broad numeracy abilities, and other cognitive skills (e.g., expressive vocabulary, executive function). Parent ratings of their children’s numeracy skills varied in terms of how skill-specific they were. However, aggregated parent ratings predicted directly assessed broad numeracy abilities, more so than other cognitive skills, providing evidence for discriminant validity. Findings inform how parent ratings may be used in research, especially in cases where children cannot be directly assessed, such as when large-scale parent surveys are used.