This study investigated teachers’ experiences of closeness during interactions with children in child care. Structured interviews were conducted with 24 female teachers who were teaching children between the ages of three and five (mean age = 3.9) regarding their conceptions of closeness, and their perceptions of their own and the child’s contributions to close interactions. Qualitative analyses of the interviews revealed a relational model of teacher—child relationships that included a professional domain, an attachment domain and a personal domain, with the personal domain as most dominant in teachers’ perceptions. The personal domain was interpreted as consistent with Weingarten’s (1991) theory of intimate interactions and adds a new perspective on affective dimensions of caring (Goldstein, 1999). Teachers viewed relationships with particular children as a personal two-way relationship where both contributed either solely or mutually in their desire to be close. Teachers described intentional strategies for managing the close relationship that made use of the past history and the anticipated future of the relationship.

No abstract

This study investigated teachers' experiences of closeness during interactions with the group of children in child care. Structured interviews were conducted with 24 female teachers who were teaching children between the ages of three and five (mean age = 3.9) regarding their perceptions of closeness with the group of children in the class. Qualitative analyses of the interviews revealed a group solidarity domain of teacher-group relationships composed of three dimensions which comprise emotional solidarity, consensual solidarity, and functional solidarity, with emotional solidarity most dominant in the teachers' perceptions. This group solidarity domain was interpreted as being consistent with qualities found in Grusec and Davidov's group participation domain. The findings that, teachers' closeness with the group of children in the class were dominated by the emotional dimension is similar to previous research results which report the predominance of personal and intimate interactions in relational closeness between teachers and individual children. Teachers described intentional strategies for managing close group relationships that made use of interactional histories between the teachers and children in the class. These discoveries provide a new perspective on teacher closeness with groups, an area of research not often investigated. It also provides insights into the importance teachers place on connecting emotionally with children when they are with the collective group in the classroom.