We already know that children's relationships with their parents and teachers contribute to their school adjustment and achievement, and that positive, close relationships with adults are really important for a wide variety of children’s outcomes. However, few studies have examined interactions between these relationships or sought to address the nuances of children’s experiences in terms of how different relationships have different impact or influence.

To address this, along with colleagues, our new Researcher of the Month, Dr Caoimhe Dempsey, has recently published an article which aims to examine the links between children's relationships with their mothers, fathers and teachers, and three domains of school adjustment: academic achievement, academic self-concept and behavioural adjustment in the classroom. By examining a range of data, the researchers sought to find out whether some children are more susceptible to the effects of the quality of their relationship with their teacher.

Summary

"Teacher-child relationships in the first years of school have the potential to alter pre-existing influences and set the stage for future teacher-child relationships. Early school classrooms and curriculum should acknowledge this and prioritise fostering positive teacher-child relationships."

The research uses data from the Growing Up in Ireland study. This is a nationally representative, longitudinal study of approximately 7000 children in Ireland, which has been running for over 20 years. In the study, Dr Dempsey examined the quality of child-adult relationships at ages three and five, and teachers' reports of children's behavioural adjustment and academic achievement when they were nine years old.

Data from the Growing Up in Ireland study is unusual as it uses a multi-informant approach. Whilst, due to time and resource contraints, most studies only interview one parent (and generally this is mothers) the Growing Up in Ireland study gathers data from more than one parent in each family, including both mothers and fathers. Data was also gathered via interviews and questionnaires from teachers, headteachers and children themselves.

Whilst effect sizes were not large, after controlling for numerous variables, the study concluded that positive relationships between adults and young children impact on all elements of their school experiences and on all of the dimensions examined; academic, social, emotional and behavioural outcomes. The team found that teachers can shape and shift children's future trajectories and outcomes when they have a close and positive relationships, but that they have particular impact for some children.

The study suggests that children's initial teacher relationships interact with the effects of existing conflictual or problematic relationships with their mother. For children who lack an element of closeness or stability in their relationship with their mum, forming an intimate bond with a teacher when they start school can make a positive and significant difference to their school adjustment, and a close teacher relationship appears to compensate for the risks of low mother-child closeness. For children with strong, supportive relationships at home, teachers were not found to make such significant difference, as the trajectories for these children generally tend to be good already.

However, findings were not the same for dads! Children with a conflictual relationship with their father did not see these beneficial changes from a close relationship with their teacher, and the negative effects of the relationship with their fathers lasted into middle childhood, regardless of positive work happening at school. The current study provides first evidence of the longevity of the independent effect of father relationships through to middle childhood.

The reason for this difference requires further research. Dr Dempsey and co-authors posit that it could be linked to the fact that, in Ireland, a higher proportion of primary school teachers are female (85.8%), class sizes are small (which may mean teachers take on a more maternal role) or, compared with fathers, mothers may adopt a style of interacting with children that is more similar to teachers. For example, mothers traditionally spend more time fulfilling childcare duties, which may be more akin to the duties of a primary school teachers, whereas fathers engage in more unique play activities.

The study also suggests a "ceiling effect for adult-child closeness". Experiencing one close adult relationship was found to support children's behavioural adjustment and reading achievement. Interestingly, the additional benefit of a second close adult-relationship is limited; children who experience close relationships with both mothers and teachers show comparable outcomes at age nine to children with one close maternal relationship.

Implications

Implications for schools

"Teachers' influence can either provide a close relationship that mitigates earlier risk or expose children to conflict that pushes them past the point of resilience with their prior risk factors. These findings suggest that schools should focus their attention on identifying children exposed to higher relational risk and invest in forming positive teacher-child relationships with vulnerable children at school entry."

Bring parents in. Schools should give specific consideration to hard to reach families and think about strategies that might help to break down potential emotional barriers to school involvement. Opening up breakfast clubs to parents or having teachers or the head teacher welcoming families at the school gate can make school seem a much less scary or daunting place. Strategies like this can facilitate the formation of relationships with the whole families and create an ethos of inclusivity.

Engage with all parents. Ensure that all school information is sent to all people with parental / caring responsibilities and try - where there is a father - to keep them involved.

Get off on the right foot. Try to ensure that your first interactions with children get things off to a good start. This is especially important if children have behavioural challenges or relational difficulties.

Recognise individual differences in conversational styles. Some children will be very sociable, whilst others will be more reluctant. Listen actively and tap into what will bring out the best in each individual.

Confront any unconscious biases that you may have. We all have a tendency to interact more with ‘people like us’. Be aware of which children you might talk to more than others and consider whether all the children in your class receive individual attention. Ensure that every pupil feels equally valued in the classroom. It may be that having had the benefit of positive family experiences and role models, children coming from stable home environments are better able to interact with teachers. Because interactions with these children may feel smoother, tt can be easy to give them more time and attention.

Remember that children really value strong relationships. At this young age, when asked about their school experiences, children focus largely on their relationships with their friends and their teachers. Children tend to place more importance on these bonds than adults, who are often more caught up in academic learning.

Read lots more evidence-based tips in Dr Dempsey's new book. The Psychology of Starting School, which Dr Dempsey co-wrote with Professor Claire Hughes and Dr Elian Fink contains a vast quantity of actionable and clear advice for teachers to help children adjust well to the school environment.

Implications for parents

“Parents should make sure that they are filling their own buckets and that they have their own sources of social support, so that they are not just giving the whole time. It's very hard to come home with all the energy in the world to be the best parent that you can if you don’t have an independent outlet from all these things yourself.”

Remember that starting school can feel overwhelming for children. School is a very stimulating environment. Children are away from the safety zone of home, are mixing with new children in potentially larger classes, have a new teacher and will be doing different activities to those that they’ve done before.

Preparation is key. Mentally prepare young children for school routines by reducing the amount of new experiences they will have at once. Practise things before they start. Get them to put on their uniform and change into their PE kit. Try out the journey to school and talk about the route that you might take. Try to arrange playdates with some of the children who will be in their class so that they can begin to make friends or at least recognise some familiar faces.

Accept that settling in takes time. Whilst some children will take to school immediately, others will find it more challenging. Parents should recognise that their child’s behaviour might be different or challenging at home, and this is ok! They are likely to be tired, and may well be grumpy and hungry when they return home after a long day at school. Be patient.

Be aware of your own anxieties and emotions. Parental emotions and worries can negatively impact on children’s feelings. It’s best to be mindful of how we talk about the move to school and how things that we say might impact positively or negatively on our children.

Don’t make assumptions. Dr Dempsey was recently involved in a study which asked young children how they felt about school. They then asked those children’s parents the same question. For the first year of children’s schooling, the views of parents and children didn’t align, and parents were largely unaware of children’s real feelings. The study found that children often report negatives from their day (falling over in the playground, for example), rather than the great time that they had in the sand area.

Don’t bombard children with questions as soon as they get home. Remember that different children need different things. Some will need to run around in the park. Others will need to chill out. Daily routines might need adapting. Attune to their needs.

Ensure that you have your own sources of support. When children start school, life changes for parents too. Sources of social support might change. Some families may find themselves without the levels of help that they really need and they may feel more stressed or irritable. To help maintain harmony at home, try to maintain your own interests and relationships. Remember that you are important too!

Tooled Up members can access a huge range of resources designed to support school transition for different ages and stages. Check them out here.