Student Teacher Relationship Quality in Montessori and Non-Montessori Preschool

• In Event: Sunday Roundtable Session 1:15 pm
  In Roundtable Session: Montessori Teachers: Relationships, Perspectives, Beliefs, and Competencies (Table 9)

Abstract

Student teacher relationships (STR) are associated with numerous important outcomes for students beginning as early as preschool. The individual characteristics of students and teachers that influence the development of these important relationships have been well-studied over the last several decades. However, less is known about how characteristics of the classroom context guide these relationships. This study will help disentangle the relative role of individual and contextual factors in shaping STR by comparing the quality of STR across two common preschools contexts: business-as-usual and Montessori. There are good theoretical to expect that Montessori students are able to develop higher quality STR on average, so we expect to observe closer and less conflictual STR among the Montessori students.

Authors

• Lee Leboeuf, University of Virginia

• Deeza-Mae Smith, American Institutes for Research

• Angeline S. Lillard, University of Virginia