Early Child Development and Care, 2003, Vol. 173(23), pp.

249258

TeacherChild Interactions and Preschool

Childrens Perceptions of Self and Peers
MALINDA J. COLWELL* AND ERIC W. LINDSEY
Texas Tech University, P.O. Box 41162, Lubbock, TX 79409, USA
(Received 2 October 2002)

This study examined connections between teacherchild interaction and childrens perceptions of self and
peers. Forty-seven predominately white, middle-class preschoolers (twenty-seven boys, twenty girls; forty
European-American, two Hispanic, two African-American, three Asian) were observed during indoor and
outdoor activity at their preschool over a period of four months. Childrens time spent interacting with
teachers, as well as childrens cooperative behavior, emotional expressions, and aggression toward teachers
was assessed. In addition, children participated in interviews designed to assess their self-perceptions and
perceptions of peers. Results revealed that girls spent more time interacting with teachers than boys, and had
more cooperative and positive interactions with teachers than did boys. Correlation analyses indicated that the
quality of teacherchild interaction was differentially linked to boys and girls self-perceptions and
perceptions of peers. The implications of interactions between teacher and child for childrens cognitions
about self and others are discussed.
Key words: Teacherchild relationship; Self-concept; Perception of peers; Preschool

INTRODUCTION
Increasing attention is being given to the early emergence of childrens self-concept (Byrne,
1996; Cassidy, 1990; Verschueren, Marcoen and Schoefs, 1996). Recent studies suggest that
it is during the early childhood period that children begin to form coherent self-evaluations
(for example, Byrne, 1996; Stipek, Gralinski and Kopp, 1990). Although young children tend
to have consistently positive and undifferentiated self-views, individual differences are seen
in self-concept at early ages (Marsh, Craven and Debus, 1991). Moreover, young childrens
self-concepts have been found to be moderately stable (Marsh, Craven and Debus, 1998), and
individual differences in young childrens self-concept are linked to both concurrent and later
adjustment (Harter, 1999; Zimmerman, Copeland, Shope and Dielman, 1997). Together, this
evidence suggests that variations in preschool childrens self-concepts have important
developmental implications. Consequently, researchers have begun to focus on the early
determinants of individual differences in preschool childrens self-appraisals. The present
study is intended to contribute to this body of work by examining connections between
teacherchild interactions and childrens self-perceptions.
Theoretical explanations of the origins of self-concept focus on the importance of
interpersonal relationships for a childs sense of self (for example, Cassidy, 1990; Sullivan,

*Corresponding author.

ISSN 0300-4430 print; ISSN 1476-8275 online/03/020249-10 2003 Taylor & Francis Ltd
DOI: 10.1080/0300443031000071888

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M. J. COLWELL AND E. W. LINDSEY

1953). From a symbolic interactionist perspective, interactions with others are viewed as
being necessary for the childs construction of a self-concept (Mead, 1934). According to the
theory, relationship experiences shape a childs self-understanding by providing him/her with
information about how significant others view himself/herself, information that the child then
adopts into their self-description (Harter, 1999). Similarly, attachment theory outlines
processes whereby the quality of early parentchild relationships influences a childs
development of an overall working model of the self based on his/her representations of
attachment relationships (Bretherton, 1993; Cassidy, 1990). Consistent with these theoretical
proposals, accumulating empirical evidence suggests that the quality of childrens social
relationships influences their self-perceptions. The majority of these studies are based on an
attachment theory perspective and focus on how individual differences in the quality of early
parentchild relationships are related to childrens working models of self (for example,
Verschueren and Marcoen, 1999; Verschueren et al., 1996). Less attention has been given to
connections between childrens self-concept and their relationships with individuals outside
the family.
One important non-familial relationship with implications for childrens adjustment is
that between teacher and child. Theoretical models explaining childrens school adaptation
propose that the level of closeness and the amount of conflict between teacher and child
are two important determinants of childrens school success (see Birch & Ladd, 1997;
Pianta, Steinberg and Rollins, 1995). Consistent with this argument, recent empirical
evidence suggests that the quality of early teacherchild relationships predict childrens
later adjustment to school (Pianta and Steinberg, 1992). It may be that connections
between the teacherchild relationship and childrens adjustment are accounted for by the
effect teacherchild interaction has on the way children think about themselves. Support
for this proposal comes from recent evidence pointing to an association between teacher
ratings of childrens self-concept and childrens personal self-perceptions (Marsh et al.,
1998). In addition, young childrens self-evaluations have been found to be particularly
susceptible to evaluative comments by teachers (Heyman, Dweck and Cain, 1992). To
date, however, no study has examined teacherchild interaction in relation to childrens
self-perception.
Connections between teacherchild relationships and children adjustment may also be
accounted for by the effect that interactions with teachers have on childrens perceptions of
peers. The quality of the teacherchild relationship may serve as a determinant of childrens
social functioning in their classroom. That is, positive teacherchild interaction may promote
more positive attitudes about the classroom generally and translate to positive attitudes
toward peers. It also is possible, in keeping with attachment theory, that children who have
a secure relationship with an adult in the child care environment may be more free to pursue
relationships with peers. In a similar vein, children who have a more positive relationship
with their classroom teacher may receive more assistance in interacting with peers and
forming positive peer relationships. Alternatively, relationships with teachers may have more
important implications for childrens self-perceptions than for childrens perceptions of peers.
The present study examines teacherchild interaction in relation to both childrens selfperceptions and their perceptions of peers.
Gender differences in childrens interpersonal behaviors suggest that the quantity and
quality of childrens interactions with teachers may differ for boys and girls (Birch and Ladd,
1998). One area of difference that has been observed is in the amount of time girls and boys
spend interacting with teachers, with preschool girls being more likely to spend time playing
in close proximity to teachers than are boys (Fagot, 1994), whereas boys spend more time
interacting with peers, particularly in same-sex groups, than with teachers (Carpenter and
Huston-Stein, 1980). Differences also have been found in the quality of girls and boys

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251

interactions with teachers, in that girls have more close and dependent teacherchild
relationships, whereas boys have more conflictual relationships with teachers (Birch and
Ladd, 1997). In a similar vein, evidence suggests that teachers may interact differently with
boys and girls (Cherry, 1975; Serbin, OLeary, Kent and Tonick, 1973). Specifically, teachers
have been found to give more attention to boys than to girls (Serbin et al., 1973). Together
this evidence suggests that it is important to consider child gender in examinations of
teacherchild interaction.
The goal of the present study was to examine qualitative characteristics of teacherchild
interaction and how teacherchild interaction is related to childrens perceptions of self and
peers. Based on previous evidence of gender differences in the quantity and quality of
childrens interactions with teachers, it was predicted that girls would spend more time
interacting with teachers than boys. In addition, girls were expected to have more positive
and less negative interactions with teachers than boys, whereas boys were expected to display
more aggression and more negative emotion with teachers than girls. As for connections
between teacherchild interaction and childrens self-concept and perceptions of peers, it was
predicted that children whose interactions with teachers are characterized by more
cooperation and positive emotion would have more positive self-perceptions and more
positive perceptions of peers, whereas children whose interactions with teachers are
characterized by high levels of aggression and negative emotion were expected to have
negative self-perceptions and negative perceptions of peers. Differences in patterns of
connection between teacherchild interaction and childrens self-perceptions and perceptions
of peers were examined for boys and girls, although no specific predictions were made due
to lack of theoretical and empirical guidance for such hypotheses.

METHOD
Participants
Participants were forty-seven preschool children attending a university-sponsored child
development research center. This sample represented 78% of children available for
participation. There were twenty-seven boys and twenty girls between the ages of 43 and 80
months (mean = 60.36). Forty of the children were European-American, two were AfricanAmerican, two were Hispanic, and three were Asian in ethnic origin. The families were
primarily from the middle and upper-middle classes, with 80% of fathers being employed in
professional occupations.

Puppet Interview
The Feelings about Myself and Peers (FAMP) (Lindsey and Mize, 2000) puppet interview
was used to assess childrens perceptions of self and peers. The FAMP is a sixteen-item
interview composed of four scales: (a) self-perceptions (three items; e.g., Im a fun kid to
play with/Im not a fun kid to play with), (b) perceptions of peers (three items; e.g., The
kids at my school are mean/nice), (c) self-efficacy beliefs (five items; e.g., Its hard/easy
for me to make new friends), and (d) outcome beliefs (five items; e.g., When I ask kids to
play they say no/yes).
In the FAMP, two attractive hand puppets (puppies named Muffy and Fluffy) are operated
by the researcher to direct questions to the child. The researcher introduced the puppets to the
child at the beginning of the interview and from then on interacted with the child only
through the puppets. Prior to the interview questions, the researcher went through a warm-up

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M. J. COLWELL AND E. W. LINDSEY

session to ensure that the child was engaged with the puppets and understood how the
interview would be conducted. Once it was established that the child understood the
interview procedure, the researcher moved to the actual interview questions.
Each interview question was presented in two parts, with one puppet describing itself to the
child in one way, followed by the second puppet describing itself in contrasting terms (e.g.,
Im a fun kid to play with, Im not much fun to play with). After each set of descriptions the
child was asked to state which of the two puppets was most like him/her. To ensure that the
child did not identify with a single puppet early in the interview and thus endorse only that
puppets characteristics, the researcher alternated which puppet described itself first.
Childrens responses were coded on three-point scales, depending on which puppets
description they identified as being like themselves, with a one assigned to negative
descriptions of self and peer perceptions, and a three assigned to positive descriptions of self
and peer perceptions. A score of two was assigned if a child responded that sometimes he/she
was like one puppet and sometimes like the other, or that he/she was like both puppets.
Following a mixed response (a score of two), the interviewer prompted the child again,
asking if he/she was more often like Muffy or more often like Fluffy. Again, depending on
which puppets description the child identified as being like him/herself the response was
double coded with a two and one (indicating moderately low social perception/self-efficacy)
or a two and three (indicating moderately high social perception/self-efficacy). If the child
repeated that sometimes he/she was like one puppet and sometimes like the other, or that he/
she was like both puppets, the score remained a two only. Later, when the data were entered
for analysis, childrens responses were converted to five-point scales, with one recoded as
one, double codes of two and one were recoded as two, codes of two were converted to three,
double codes of two and three were recoded to a score of four, and scores of three were
converted to five. Childrens responses to the five self-efficacy items and the three selfconcept items were averaged to create a measure of self-concept ( = 0.78), and childrens
responses to the five peer outcome questions and the three peer perception questions were
averaged to create a measure of perceptions of peers ( = 0.71). The mean, standard
deviation, and range of childrens self-concept score was 4.18, 0.72, and 2.205.00,
respectively. The mean, standard deviation, and range of childrens perceptions of peers score
was 4.18, 0.72, and 2.205.00, respectively.
Naturalistic Observations of Childrens Interactions with Teachers
Using observational schemes similar to those employed by previous research with young
children in school settings (for example, Ladd, Birch and Buhs, 1999), twelve trained
research assistants, who were unaware of the hypothesis guiding the study, observed
childrens behavior at preschool each week over a period of four months. Because we were
interested in assessing possible contextual differences in teacherchild interaction, children
were observed both indoors and on the playground. Following a predetermined, random list
of names, researchers observed each childs behavior for thirty seconds, afterward coding the
childs behavior based on a variety of categories (see later). After coding one childs
behavior, the researcher moved to observe the next child on the list that was in attendance that
day, until each child in the classroom had been observed once, then the researcher started
over. This procedure was repeated on each visit, with each researcher averaging three visits
to a classroom per week over the four-month period. Reliability was assessed by having two
coders conduct observations on the same children for approximately twenty-five percent of
all scans. A total of 6751 thirty-second scans were collected over the four-month period, with
an average of one hundred and sixteen scans for each child (fifty-eight minutes). The average
number of scans for boys was 112.81 (56.40 minutes) and the average number of scans for

TEACHER AND PEER INTERACTION

253

girls was 119.23(59.50 minutes). Absences and differences in the availability of children
resulted in the variation of observation time for boys and girls.
For each observation, researchers coded the target childs behavior on a variety of
dimensions. First, the coder noted whether the child was engaged in solitary activity,
interacting with one or more teachers, interacting with one or more peers, or interacting with
both a teacher and one or more peers. In addition, observers identified the childs level of
social participation using the following scale: (1) the child is unoccupied in social activity,
or is engaged in onlooker behavior; (2) the child is engaged in activity near one or more
social partners, with similar materials, but does not interact with them; (3) the child is
engaged in a separate activity from those around him/her, but interacts with others by
exchanging toys and commenting on the others behavior or engaging in conversation with
others; and (4) the child is engaged with others around him/her in a cooperative way, with
actions that are directed toward a common goal. Childrens level of aggression with their
interactive partner also was identified based on the following codes: (1) no indication of
aggressive behavior; (2) a relatively minor incidence of verbally aggressive behavior; (3) a
clear, but not major indication of aggression (e.g., grabbing a toy or object from partner,
intentionally interfering with partners activity); (4) a relatively major incidence of
aggressive behavior (e.g., yelling or pushing); or (5) an exceptionally major incidence of
aggression that involves physical aggression (e.g., hitting, kicking, pulling hair). The amount
of positive emotion displayed by the child was identified based on the following codes: (1)
no indication of positive affect; (2) a relatively vague indication of positive emotion; (3) a
clear, but not very strong indication of positive emotion; (4) a relatively strong indication of
positive emotion; or (5) an exceptionally strong indication of positive emotion. Evidence of
positive emotion could include smiling, chuckling, laughter, singing, and/or animated
behavior. Finally, the amount of negative emotion displayed by the child was identified based
on the following codes: (1) no indication of negative affect; (2) a relatively vague indication
of negative emotion; (3) a clear, but not very strong indication of negative emotion; (4) a
relatively strong indication of negative emotion; or (5) an exceptionally strong indication of
negative emotion. Negative emotions can include anger, sadness, or fear. Evidence of
negative emotion could include yelling, screaming, hitting, crying, frowning, or other
perturbed facial expression.
Data Reduction
Because we were interested in examining contextual differences in childrens behavior,
separate composite variables were created based on classroom and playground observations.
First, composite variables representing the amount of time children spent interacting with
teachers were created by dividing the total number of intervals in which a child was observed
interacting with only a teacher by the total number of observation intervals for each child.
The resulting scores represent the proportion of time each child spent in teacherchild
interaction.
Second, variables representing qualitative characteristics of childrens interaction with
teachers were created. Specifically, the total number of intervals in which a child displayed
cooperative behavior (i.e., received a rating of four on social participation), aggressive
behavior (i.e., received a rating of two or higher for aggression), positive emotion, and
negative emotion with a teacher was divided by the total number of intervals the child was
observed interacting with a teacher. This resulted in four scores representing: (a) the
proportion of cooperative teacherchild interaction; (b) the proportion of child aggressive
behavior toward teacher; (c) the proportion of child positive emotion with teacher; and (d) the
proportion of child negative emotion with teacher.

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M. J. COLWELL AND E. W. LINDSEY

TABLE I Descriptive Statistics and t Values for Girls and Boys Interaction with Teacher and Perceptions of Self
and Peers.
Girls (n = 20)
Mean

Standard
deviation

Range

Boys (n = 27)
Mean

Standard
deviation

Range
t

Teacherchild interaction
Proportion of time
Cooperation
Aggression
Positive emotion
Negative emotion

0.24
0.42
0.06
0.17
0.08

0.11
0.38
0.07
0.08
0.14

0.060.50
0.240.87
0.000.013
0.000.33
0.000.20

0.17
0.33
0.07
0.10
0.08

0.12
0.21
0.09
0.13
0.12

0.000.56
0.110.82
0.000.15
0.000.25
0.000.25

1.89*
2.01*
0.12
2.75**
0.24

Perceptions
Self
Peers

4.12
4.15

0.71
0.41

2.815.00
3.175.00

4.26
4.28

0.83
0.71

3.105.00
3.215.00

0.57
0.69

*p < 0.05; **p < 0.01.

RESULTS
Arc sine-transformed variables were used in all analyses involving proportions; however, for
ease of interpretation, the means presented in Table I are based on the untransformed
proportions. Preliminary correlation analyses were conducted to determine whether
childrens behavior or perceptions of self and peers varied as a function of child age or
demographic variables. These analyses revealed a significant negative association between
child age and child perceptions of self (r = 0.31, p < 0.05), indicating that younger children
had higher self-perceptions than older children. In addition, there was a significant negative
association between child age and proportion of teacherchild classroom interaction (r =
0.38, p < 0.01) and teacherchild playground interaction (r = 0.30, p < 0.05), indicating
that younger children engaged in more interaction with teachers than older children. No other
significant correlations were observed between child age and study variables, nor were there
significant correlations between family demographic variables and other study variables.
Sex Differences in TeacherChild and ChildPeer Within and Across
Contexts
To examine possible differences in childrens interactions with teachers based on child sex
and context of interaction (i.e., classroom vs. playground), measures of teacherchild
interaction were subjected to a 2 2 (sex of child context) repeated-measures multivariate
analysis of variance (MANOVA). Context (classroom vs. playground) was a within-subject
variable, whereas child sex was a between-subject variable. The MANOVA revealed a
significant main effect for child sex on a number of variables; however, there was no
significant effect for context, nor were there any significant interactions between child sex
and context. Follow-up t tests (see Table I) indicated that: (1) girls spend more time
interacting with teachers than did boys; (2) girls were more cooperative during interactions
with teacher than boys; and (3) girls displayed more positive emotion with teachers than did
boys.
These analyses indicated that childrens interactions with teachers were similar in both the
classroom and playground context. Furthermore, preliminary correlation analyses revealed
moderate correlations between childrens classroom and playground behavior with teachers

TEACHER AND PEER INTERACTION

TABLE II

255

Correlations among Variables.

1

Teacherchild interaction
1. Proportion of time
2. Cooperation
3. Aggression
4. Positive emotion
Negative emotion

0.17
0.13
0.43**
0.01

0.26
0.01
0.60***

Child perceptions
6. Perception of self
7. Perception of peers

0.26 +
0.22

0.35*
0.11

0.14

0.38*
0.25

0.46*
0.11
0.07

0.41*
0.05
0.49**
0.50**

0.15
0.35*
0.17
0.41*
0.04

0.37*
0.08
0.60***
0.02
0.19

0.47**
0.67***
0.27*
0.39*

0.35*
0.35*
0.14

0.08
0.08

0.15
0.21

Note: Correlations for boys are presented below the diagonal.

*p < 0.10; **p < 0.05; ***p < 0.01.

(r values for same behavioral category across contexts ranged from 0.22 to 0.62; mean r =
0.46). Consequently, in order to reduce the number of variables used in subsequent analyses,
childrens classroom and playground behaviors were averaged to create a single score for
each teacherchild interaction category.
Correlations among Variables
As shown in Table II, correlation analyses examining associations among teacherchild
interaction variables revealed that both boys and girls who were aggressive with teachers
displayed more negative emotion when interacting with teachers. In addition, boys and
girls who displayed more positive emotion with teachers also displayed more negative
emotion when interacting with teachers, suggesting that there is consistency in childrens
expression of positive and negative valence emotions with teachers. Boys who were
cooperative with teachers also displayed more negative emotion with teachers, and boys
who engaged in aggressive behavior with teachers also displayed more positive emotion
with teachers.
Correlations Between TeacherChild Interactions and Childrens Social
Perceptions
Overall, the pattern of correlations between childrens self-perceptions and teacherchild
interaction variables were found to differ for boys and girls. Girls who were cooperative with
teachers had low self-concept, whereas girls who displayed positive emotion with teachers
had high self-concept. In contrast, boys who spent more time interacting with teachers had
a low self-concept, although this was only in the direction of a trend. In addition, boys who
were cooperative with teachers and who displayed more positive emotion with teachers had
high self-concept, and there was a trend for boys who displayed more aggression with
teachers to have low self-concept. There were no other significant associations between
teacherchild interaction variables and childrens self-concept.
As for childrens perceptions of peers, both girls and boys who displayed more aggression
with teachers had positive perceptions of peers, although the association for boys was only
in the direction of a trend. In addition, girls who spent more time interacting with teachers
had positive perceptions of peers. There were no other significant associations between
teacherchild interaction variables and childrens perceptions of peers.

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M. J. COLWELL AND E. W. LINDSEY

DISCUSSION
Previous empirical and theoretical literature has suggested that childrens thinking about
themselves and others is both influenced by and influential on childrens social relationships
(Bretherton, 1987; Cassidy, 1990; Harter, 1999). The majority of this literature focuses on
childrens relationships with family members, particularly parentchild relationships (for
example, Verschueren and Marcoen, 1999; Verschueren et al., 1996). Recently, however,
increasing attention has been given to the implications of the teacherchild relationship for
childrens adjustment. Researchers have found that qualitative characteristics of teacher
child interaction have important links to childrens socio-emotional functioning (Birch and
Ladd, 1997). The current study serves as a bridge between these two areas of research by
demonstrating connections between the quality of teacherchild interaction and childrens
perceptions of themselves and peers. This is a noteworthy association given the growing
body of evidence pointing to the importance of individual differences in young childrens
self-perceptions for their social adjustment (for example, Harter and Pike, 1984; Verschueren
and Marcoen, 1999; Verschueren et al., 1996). However, it is important to note that the
concurrent associations between teacherchild interactions and childrens self-concept in the
present study do not provide information about the direction of effect. It is equally possible
that individual differences in childrens self-concepts determine the quality of teacherchild
interaction, as it is that teacherchild interaction influences childrens self-concept.
Questions concerning direction of effect await longitudinal investigation. Nevertheless, the
current study does point to an important link between childrens social cognitions and the
quality of teacherchild interaction.
The present study also is noteworthy in that it provides information concerning qualitative
characteristics of preschoolers interactions with teachers. As Pianta and Steinberg (1992)
note, there is very little empirical data on teacherchild relationship quality. This lack of
empirical investigation is surprising given the important role that teachers play in childrens
lives. What little data does exist suggests that girls and boys differ in both the quantity and
quality of their interactions with teachers (Birch and Ladd, 1997, 1998; Carpenter and
Huston-Stein, 1980; Fagot, 1994). The present study corroborates such findings in that girls
spent more time with teachers than boys, and girls were more cooperative and showed more
positive emotion with teachers than did boys. As these authors suggest, it may be that girls
are socialized by caregivers to be more adult oriented than boys. Consequently, girls gender
roles may be more conducive to the formation of positive relationships with teachers than
boys gender roles. Alternatively, Maccoby has suggested that girls prefer to maintain close
proximity to teachers in order to avoid the aggressive play styles of boys. In turn, boys have
been found to prefer activities that are less supervised by adults (Carpenter and Huston-Stein,
1980). Thus, it may be that gender-segregated patterns of behavior may influence differences
in boys and girls relationships with teachers. Future research should investigate connections
between childrens development of gender roles and patterns of teacherchild interaction.
Nevertheless, it seems reasonable to speculate on the basis of the present findings that the
characteristics of teacherchild interactions may have different correlates with childrens
adjustment, depending on child sex.
Consistent with this proposal, associations between teacherchild interaction quality and
childrens perceptions of self were found to differ for boys and girls. For instance, boys who
were cooperative with teachers had high self-perceptions, whereas girls who were
cooperative with teachers had low self-perceptions. In addition, boys who spent more time
with teachers and who were more aggressive with teachers had low self-perceptions;
however, no such associations were observed for girls. These findings may reflect the
operation of gender-based differences in connections between socio-cognitive processes and

TEACHER AND PEER INTERACTION

257

childrens behavior, with high and low self-perceptions leading to different patterns of
teacherchild interaction for boys and girls. Alternatively, it may be that similar qualities of
teacherchild interaction have different consequences for how boys and girls think about
themselves, perhaps due to gender role socialization experiences. Again, however, the present
study cannot address questions concerning the direction of effect between self-perceptions
and teacherchild interaction. Thus, definitive explanations for the associations found in this
study await future research. Nevertheless, these findings suggest that child sex is a critical
factor in understanding connections between teacherchild relationships and childrens
perceptions of themselves.
Connections also were found between teacherchild interaction quality and girls and
boys perceptions of peers. Specifically, both girls and boys who displayed more aggressive
behavior with teachers had more positive perceptions of peers. This finding may reflect that
children with more positive perceptions of peers have a greater affiliation with peers than
with teachers, which results in a greater display of aggression toward teachers who may have
to set limits on childrens peer interactions. It also is possible that this finding reflects a
greater tendency for children who have positive peer perceptions to be involved in episodes
of peer aggression that require the intervention of teachers. It is important to note that the
levels of aggression observed in the present sample were very low and represented primarily
minor instances of aggressive behavior, such a negative verbalization or instrumental
aggression. Moreover, the coding system did not distinguish between aggressive behavior
directed specifically at teachers versus aggressive behavior between peers in which teachers
became involved. A more fine-grained analysis of childrens aggressive behavior would
probably elucidate the connections with childrens perceptions of peers observed in the
present study.
In conclusion, findings from the present study suggest that the quality of early teacher
child interactions have important connections to childrens self-concept and perceptions of
peers. Although it is not clear from the current data what the direction of effect may be, the
findings do suggest that it is important for researchers and educators to consider the role that
childrens cognitions may play in the teacherchild relationship. Moreover, from the present
study it appears that child gender has an important impact on the teacherchild relationship,
as well as how teacherchild interaction relates to childrens perceptions of self and peers.
Greater attention should be given to how differences in girls and boys experiences in the
preschool classroom affect the quality of the teacherchild relationship and childrens
adjustment.
Acknowledgements
This investigation was supported by faculty development grants from the College of Human
Sciences at Texas Tech University. The authors would like to thank Laura Villa, Malathi
Apparala, Jessica Salazar-Fontanelli, and Jennifer Chapman for their help in various phases
of data collection and coding. They are grateful to the children and teachers of the Texas Tech
Child Development Research Center for their time and participation.
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