Buffer or barrier: The role of emotional labor in teacher-child relationships and children's social behaviors

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Friday 3:45 pm - Gold 3
  In Roundtable Session: Schools as Contexts for Social Emotional Learning

Abstract

Despite extensive research emphasizing the importance of teacher-child relationships (TCR) for children's social behaviors, limited studies have explored the moderating role of teachers' emotional labor in this relationship. This study investigated the association between teachers' emotional labor and children's social behaviors, as well as their moderating effects on the link between TCR and social behaviors in the Chinese context. Data were collected from 979 children across 128 classrooms. The findings revealed that teachers' surface acting was associated with more angry-aggressive and anxious-withdrawn behaviors. Cross-level analyses indicated that surface acting strengthened the link between conflict and anxious-withdrawn behaviors, while natural expression positively moderated this relationship. These findings emphasize the need for culturally responsive training to support teachers in implementing emotional labor effectively.

Authors

• Jing Li, The Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Barry Bai, Chinese University of Hong Kong

• Yang Guo, QingXiu kindergarten

• Qin Ji, QingXiu kindergarten

• Qiuyun Chen, Jiabaotian kindergarten