This study examined the link between theory of mind (ToM) in middle childhood and teachers’ propensity for mental-state language and self-reported conversational-instruction strategies. Multilevel analyses on 430 Italian children (221 girls, M_age = 9.34 years, SD = .63, Range: 7.95–11.43 years) from 27 primary-school classrooms and their teachers showed that: (i) there were striking between-classroom differences in children's ToM; (ii) teachers’ propensity for mental-state language (β = .14) and self-reported conversational-instruction strategies (β = .16) were uniquely associated with pupils’ ToM even when child-related (i.e., age, verbal ability, number of siblings and SES) and teacher-related variables (i.e., ToM, verbal ability and years of experience) were controlled; and (iii) the association between self-reported conversational-instruction strategies and ToM was significant in older children and smaller classrooms. These findings extend socio-cultural accounts of ToM by showing a developmental continuity of environmental effects on children's ToM.

中文翻译：

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注意老师的话：中年教师心理状态语言倾向与儿童心理理论

本研究探讨了儿童中期心理理论 (ToM) 与教师的心理状态语言倾向和自我报告的会话教学策略之间的联系。对 430 名意大利儿童（221 名女孩，  M_年龄= 9.34 岁，  SD= .63，范围：7.95–11.43 岁）来自 27 个小学教室及其教师的研究表明：（i）儿童的 ToM 存在显着的班级间差异；(ii) 教师的心理状态语言倾向 (β = .14) 和自我报告的会话教学策略 (β = .16) 与学生的 ToM 具有独特的相关性，即使与儿童相关（即年龄、语言能力）也是如此、兄弟姐妹数量和 SES）和教师相关变量（即 ToM、语言能力和经验年限）受到控制；(iii) 自我报告的会话教学策略与 ToM 之间的关联在年龄较大的儿童和较小的教室中是显着的。这些发现通过显示环境对儿童 ToM 的影响的发展连续性，扩展了对 ToM 的社会文化解释。