Can closeness, conflict, and dependency be used to characterize students’ perceptions of the affective relationship with their teacher? Testing a new child measure in middle childhood

Abstract

Background The constructs of closeness, conflict, and dependency, which are derived from attachment theory, are widely used to qualify teachers’ perceptions of relationships with individual children. Aims Our main aim was to reveal whether similar and reliable dimensions could be identified in middle childhood with a newly developed student measure Student Perception of Affective Relationship with Teacher Scale (SPARTS). Additional validity support was sought by examining gender differences and associations with (1) teacher relationship perceptions and (2) problem and prosocial behaviours in children. Sample(s) Factor structure was determined in a sample of 586 children (46.5% boys) from 26 regular elementary Dutch classrooms (grade 4–6). Associations with teacher relationship reports (n = 82) and child behaviours (n = 64) were analysed in random subsamples. Methods Students’ relationship perceptions were assessed with the SPARTS; teachers’ relationship perceptions with the Student–Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS; closeness, conflict, and dependency); and problem and prosocial behaviours in children with the teacher‐reported Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire. Results Exploratory factor analysis and confirmatory factor analysis supported a 3‐factor model of conflict, closeness, and a third factor, unexpectedly reflecting negative expectations of the student instead of dependency. Satisfactory internal consistency was found for all three scales. Additional validity evidence included the following: Substantial student–teacher agreement for conflict and closeness; meaningful associations with problem and prosocial behaviours in children; and expected gender differences showing that, compared to boys, girls share more favourable relationships (more closeness and less conflict) with teachers. Conclusions The 3‐dimensional SPARTS comes close to the attachment‐derived teacher STRS, as far as conflict and closeness are concerned. The third dimension, negative expectations, represents a new and relevant attachment‐related dimension reflecting a lack of confidence of students in the relationship with their teacher.

Student-Teacher Relationships As a Protective Factor for School Adjustment during the Transition from Middle to High School

“…The final sample consists of 122 students (of which 55% female). We employed a self-report questionnaire to collect information regarding demographic characteristics (age, gender), quality of relationship with teachers (using the Student Perception of Affective Relationships with Teacher Scale—SPARTS, Koomen and Jellesma, 2015), problematic and prosocial behavior (Strenghts and Difficulties Questionnaire, SDQ, Goodman, 1997) and academic achievement (as the average grade across all the school subjects).…”

“…We examined students' perceptions of the student–teacher relationship quality using the Student Perception of Affective Relationship with Teacher Scale (SPARTS; Koomen and Jellesma, 2015). It consists of 25 items investigating three dimensions, namely Closeness, Conflict, and Negative expectations.…”

Early Adolescents’ Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties, Student–Teacher Relationships, and Motivation to Defend in Bullying Incidents

“…Thus, we hypothesize that closeness will positively be associated with autonomous motivation to defend and negatively associated with extrinsic motivation to defend. Koomen and Jellesma (2015) suggest another dimension of student-teacher relationships termed negative expectations, which they define as a desire for more positive attention (e.g., students wish that their teacher would listen to them more, could spend more time with them, knew them better, and that they could talk about more things with their teacher). In their study, Koomen and Jellesma (2015) found that negative expectations were related to more emotional problems and hyperactivity/attention problems, and less prosocial behavior.…”

Cross-Lagged Associations Between Problem Behaviors and Teacher-Student Relationships in Early Adolescence

“…Hamre and Pianta (2001) demonstrated that teacher-perceived conflict in kindergarten exposed children to behavioral problems in upper elementary and middle school. Koomen and Jellesma (2015) showed recently that student-perceived conflict was related to higher levels of teacher-rated hyperactivity/attention problems.…”