The aim of this article is to demonstrate how relational experiences with parents and preschool teachers provide children with a feeling of security that facilitates the development of competence in different domains. We first focus on the mechanisms regarding how secure attachments to parents serve as an important foundation for later development. We then provide a short review of the literature on teacher-child relationships, including results of our own research, which emphasizes the unique role relationship experiences with teachers play in shaping children’s development. Teachers’ sensitivity seems to be of particular importance in helping children with less favorable caregiving experiences at home to become engaged in corrective relational experiences, and there is evidence that interventions aimed at increasing teachers’ sensitivity can be successful.
AhnertL., Harwardt-HeineckeE., KapplerG., Eckstein-MadryT., & MilatzA. (2012). Student–teacher relationships and classroom climate in first grade: How do they relate to students’ stress regulation?Attachment & Human Development, 14, 249–263. doi: 10.1080/14616734.2012.673277
2.
AhnertL., PinquartM., & LambM. E. (2006). Security of children’s relationships with nonparental care providers: A meta-analysis. Child Development, 77, 664–679. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2006.00896
3.
AinsworthM. D. (1969). Object relations, dependency, and attachment: A theoretical review of the infant-mother relationship. Child Development, 40, 969–1025.
4.
AinsworthM. D. (1985). Patterns of infant-mother attachments: Antecedents and effects on development. Bulletin of the New York Academy of Medicine, 61, 771–791.
5.
BowlbyJ. (1969), Attachment and loss. Vol 1: Attachment. New York: Basic Books.
6.
BowlbyJ. (1988), A secure base: Clinical implications of attachment theory. London: Routledge.
7.
BuyseE., VerschuerenK., & DoumenS. (2011). Preschoolers’ attachment to mother and risk for adjustment problems in kindergarten: Can teachers make a difference?Social Development, 20, 33–50. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2009.00555
8.
DoumenS., VerschuerenK., BuyseE., GermeijsV., LuyckxK., & SoenensB. (2008). Reciprocal relations between teacher-child conflict and aggressive behavior in kindergarten: A three-wave longitudinal study. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 37, 588–599. doi: 10.1080/15374410802148079
9.
GroeneveldM. G., VermeerH. J., van IJzendoornM. H., & LintingM. (2011). Enhancing home-based child care quality through video-feedback intervention: A randomized controlled trial. Journal of Family Psychology, 25, 86–96. doi: 10.1037/a0022451
10.
GrossmannK. E., Becker-StollF., GrossmannK., KindlerH., SchiecheM., SpanglerG., & ZimmermannP. (1997). Die Bindungstheorie: Modell, entwicklungspsychologische Forschung und Ergebnisse. In
KellerH. (Ed.), Handbuch der Kleinkindforschung [Handbook on infant research] (pp. 51–95). Göttingen: Hogrefe.
11.
GrossmannK., & GrossmannK. E. (2004). Bindungen - Das Gefüge psychischer Sicherheit [Attachments - the structure of psychological security]. Stuttgart: Klett-Cotta.
12.
GrossmannK. E., GrossmannK., & WatersE. (2005), Attachment from infancy to adulthood: The major longitudinal studies. New York: Guilford Publications.
13.
HamreB. K., & PiantaR. C. (2005). Can instructional and emotional support in the first-grade classroom make a difference for children at risk of school failure?Child Development, 76, 949–967. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2005.00889
14.
HarmsT., CliffordR. M., & CryerD. (1998). Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (revised edition). New York, NY: Teachers College Press.
15.
HatfieldB. E., HestenesL. L., Kintner-DuffyV. L., & O’BrienM. (2013). Classroom emotional support predicts differences in preschool children’s cortisol and alpha-amylase levels. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 28, 347–356. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2012.08.001
16.
HowesC., HamiltonC. E., & PhilipsenL. C. (1998). Stability and continuity of child-caregiver and child-peer relationships. Child Development, 69, 418–426. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.1998.tb06199.x
17.
HowesC., & ShiversE. M. (2006). New child–caregiver attachment relationships: Entering childcare when the caregiver is and is not an ethnic match. Social Development, 15, 574–590. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-9507.2006.00358.x
18.
HowesC., & SpiekerS. (2008). Attachment Relationships in the context of multiple caregivers. In CassidyJ. & ShaverP.R. (Eds.), Handbook of attachment: Theory, research, and clinical applications (pp. 317–332). New York: Guilford Press.
19.
LisonbeeJ. A., MizeJ., PayneA. L., & GrangerD. A. (2008). Children’s cortisol and the quality of teacher–child relationships in child care. Child Development, 79, 1818–1832. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2008.01228.x
20.
LittleM., & KobakR. (2003). Emotional security with teachers and children’s stress reactivity: A comparison of special-education and regular-education classrooms. Journal of Clinical Child and Adolescent Psychology, 32, 127–138. doi: 10.1207/S15374424JCCP3201_12
21.
MantzicopoulosP. (2005). Conflictual relationships between kindergarten children and their teachers: Associations with child and classroom context variables. Journal of School Psychology, 43, 425–442. doi: 10.1016/j.js2005.09.004
22.
MayerD., BeckhK., BerkicJ., & Becker-StollF. (2013). Erzieherin-Kind-Beziehungen und kindliche Entwicklung: Der Einfluss von Geschlecht und Migrationshintergrund. [Student-teacher relationships and child development: The impact of gender and migration background]Zeitschrift für Pädagogik, 6, 803–816.
23.
MeehanB. T., HughesJ. N., & CavellT. A. (2003). Teacher–student relationships as compensatory resources for aggressive children. Child Development, 74, 1145–1157. doi: 10.1111/1467-8624.00598
24.
O’ConnorE. E., CollinsB. A., & SuppleeL. (2012). Behavior problems in late childhood: The roles of early maternal attachment and teacher–child relationship trajectories. Attachment & Human Development, 14, 265–288. doi: 10.1080/14616734.2012.672280
25.
PiantaR. C. (1992). Student Teacher Relationship Scale. University of Virginia. Charlottesville.
26.
PiantaR. C., NimetzS. L., & BennettE. (1997). Mother-child relationships, teacher-child relationships, and school outcomes in preschool and kindergarten. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 12, 263–280. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/S0885-2006(97)90003-X
27.
SabolT. J., & PiantaR. C. (2012). Recent trends in research on teacher–child relationships. Attachment & Human Development, 14, 213–231. doi: 10.1080/14616734.2012.672262
28.
SaftE. W., & PiantaR. C. (2001). Teachers’ perceptions of their relationships with students: Effects of child age, gender, and ethnicity of teachers and children. School Psychology Quarterly, 16, 125–141. doi.org/10.1521/scpq.16.2.125.18698
29.
SilverR. B., MeaselleJ. R., ArmstrongJ. M., & EssexM. J. (2005). Trajectories of classroom externalizing behor: Contributions of child characteristics, family characteristics, and the teacher–child relationship during the school transition. Journal of School Psychology, 43, 39–60. http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2004.11.003
30.
SpiltJ. L., HughesJ. N., WuJ. Y., & KwokO. M. (2012). Dynamics of teacher–student relationships: Stability and change across elementary school and the influence on children’s academic success. Child Development, 83, 1180–1195. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2012.01761
31.
SpiltJ. L., & KoomenH. M. (2009). Widening the view on teacher-child relationships: Teachers’ narratives concerning disruptive versus nondisruptive children. School Psychology Review, 38, 86–101. http://hdl.handle.net/11245/1.313976
32.
SpiltJ. L., KoomenH. M. Y., ThijsJ. T., & van der LeijA. (2012). Supporting teachers’ relationships with disruptive children: The potential of relationship-focused reflection. Attachment & Human Development, 14, 305–318. doi: 10.1080/14616734.2012.672286
33.
SroufeL. A., EgelandB., CarlsonE. A., & CollinsA. W. (2005), The development of the person. The Minnesota Study of Risk and Adaption from Birth to Adulthood. New York: The Guilford Press.
34.
SteeleM., SteeleH., BateJ., KnafoH., KinseyM., BonuckK., & … MurphyA. (2014). Looking from the outside in: The use of video in attachment-based interventions. Attachment & Human Development, 16, 402–415. doi: 10.1080/14616734.2014.912491
35.
SuessG. J., GrossmannK. E., & SroufeL. A. (1992). Effects of infant attachment to mother and father on quality of adaptation in preschool: From dyadic to individual organisation of self. International Journal of Behavioral Development, 15, 43–65. doi: 10.1177/016502549201500103
36.
SuessG. J., & SroufeJ. (2005). Clinical implications of the development of the person. Attachment & Human Development, 7, 381–392. doi: 10.1080/14616730500365886
37.
TietzeW., Becker-StollF., BenselJ., EckhardtA. G., Haug-SchnabelG., KalickiB., & … LeyendeckerB. (Eds.). (2013). Nationale Untersuchung zur Bildung, Betreuung und Erziehung in der frühen Kindheit (NUBBEK). [German National Study of Child Care in Early Childhood (NUBBEK)] Berlin: Das Netz.
38.
TietzeW., SchusterK.-M., GrennerK., & RoßbachH.-G. (2007). Kindergarten-Skala (KES-R). Feststellung und Unterstützung pädagogischer Qualität in Kindergärten [The German Version of the ECERS-R: Assessment and promotion of childcare quality in preschool and kindergarten]. Berlin: Cornelsen Verlag Scriptor.
39.
TurnerP. J. (1991). Relations between attachment, gender, and behavior with peers in preschool. Child Development, 62, 1475–1488. doi: 10.2307/1130820
40.
TurnerP. J. (1993). Attachment to mother and behaviour with adults in preschool. British Journal of Developmental Psychology, 11, 75–89.
41.
van IJzendoornM. H. (1995). Adult attachment representations, parental responsiveness, and infant attachment: A meta-analysis on the predictive validity of the adult attachment interview. Psychological Bulletin, 117, 387–403. doi: 10.1037/0033-2909.117.3.387
42.
van IJzendoornM. H., VereijkenC. M., Bakermans-KranenburgM. J., & Riksen-WalravenJ. M. (2004). Assessing attachment security with the Attachment Q Sort: Meta-analytic evidence for the validity of the observer AQS. Child Development, 75, 1188–1213. doi: 10.1111/j.1467-8624.2004.00733.x
43.
VerschuerenK., DoumenS., & BuyseE. (2012). Relationships with mother, teacher, and peers: Unique and joint effects on young children’s self-concept. Attachment & Human Development, 14, 233–248. doi: 10.1080/14616734.2012.672263
44.
ZajacK., & KobakR. (2006). Attachment. In
BearG. & MinkeK. (Eds.), Children’s needs III: Understanding and addressing the developmental needs of children (pp. 379–389). National Association of School Psychologists.
