ABSTRACT

Research Findings: We examined low-income children’s temperament (regulatory and reactive) as a predictor of their self-regulation, and teacher-child relationship (closeness and conflict) as a moderator of associations between child temperament and selfregulation. This study involved 291 children (132 girls) (Mage = 53.88 months, SD = 6.44 months) from three EduCare programs. Parents reported on children’s temperament and teachers reported on qualities of teacher–child relationships during fall. Direct assessments of self-regulation were conducted during the following spring and summer. Hierarchical regression models using SAS PROCMIXED were employed to account for nesting of children within classrooms. Bivariate analyses revealed that teacher-child closeness was positively associated with children’s self-regulation, and teacher-child conflict was inversely associated with children’s self-regulation. After controlling for demographic variables, regression analyses showed that higher levels of conflict combined with lower temperamental regulation was related to lower self-regulation. Lower levels of child temperamental regulation was related to higher self-regulation when teacher-child conflict was low. Practice and Policy: Findings suggest that reducing conflictual teacher-child conflict could be beneficial for children’s selfregulation, particularly for children with low regulatory temperament. A focus on enhancing teacher self-regulation, for example, through mindfulness practices, is a promising approach to reducing teacher-child conflict.

摘要

研究成果：我们检查了低收入儿童的气质（调节性和反应性）作为他们自我调节的预测指标，以及作为儿童气质和自我调节之间关联的调节因素的师幼关系（亲密和冲突）。这项研究涉及来自三个 EduCare 计划的 291 名儿童（132 名女孩）（法师 = 53.88 个月，SD = 6.44 个月）。家长报告孩子的气质，老师报告秋季期间师生关系的质量。在接下来的春季和夏季，对自我调节进行了直接评估。使用 SAS PROCMIXED 的分层回归模型被用来解释儿童在教室中的嵌套。双变量分析显示，师生亲密度与儿童的自我调节能力呈正相关，师生冲突与儿童的自我调节呈负相关。在控制人口变量后，回归分析表明，较高程度的冲突与较低的气质调节相结合，与较低的自我调节有关。当师生冲突较低时，较低水平的儿童气质调节与较高的自我调节相关。实践和政策：研究结果表明，减少师生冲突可能有利于儿童的自我调节，尤其是对调节性较差的儿童。专注于加强教师的自我调节，例如通过正念练习，是减少师生冲突的一种很有前途的方法。