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Poster #83 - Teacher Attributions for Challenging Behavior as Predictors of Closeness and Conflict in Student-Teacher Relationships
Fri, March 22, 7:45 to 9:15am, Baltimore Convention Center, Floor: Level 1, Exhibit Hall BIntegrative Statement
A key aspect of student-teacher relationships (STR) are the perceptions of both teachers and students about the tone of the relationship itself. These perceptions, composed of past interactions, emotions, beliefs, or attributions, can impact future student-teacher interactions and the development of the STR (Pianta et al., 2003; Thijs & Koomen, 2009). Given the frequent use of teacher-reported measures like the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS; Pianta, 2001), it is important to examine the potential influence of systematic differences in teacher characteristics and attitudes to fully understand the complexities of the STR. One teacher characteristic that may impact the STR is a teacher’s attributions, or perceived cause and intention, for student behavior (Thijs & Koomen, 2009).
In our study, twenty-six kindergarten to 3rd grade teachers used the STRS and an adapted version of the Preschool Teaching Attributions measure (PTA; Carter et al., 2014) to report perceptions of 45 students who had been systematically screened as having elevated rates of problem behavior. The PTA asks teachers to identify specific instances of challenging behavior for the focal student before rating statements on a 6-point Likert-type scale (ranging from 1 = strongly disagree to 6 = strongly agree) across several dimensions (i.e., purposefulness; 6 = the student behaves this way on purpose). The ratings result in subscale scores for both casual (globality, stability, locus) and responsibility (purposefulness, motivation, blame, and negative intent) attributions (Table 1).
Four regression analyses were performed to examine teacher attributions for challenging behavior as predictors of STR (Table 2). Results revealed a significant negative association (-.83, p < .001) between causal attributions and perceived closeness, suggesting that more negative causal attributions at the beginning of the school year predicted a decrease in teacher-perceived closeness at the end of the school year. Similarly, a significant positive association (2.64, p < .001) between causal attributions and perceived conflict was identified, highlighting that more negative causal attributions at pre-test predicted an increase in teacher-perceived conflict at post-test. While responsibility attributions were not significantly associated with post-test perceptions of closeness, negative responsibility attributions at the beginning of the school year were significantly associated (2.18, p <.001) with increased conflict at the end of the school year.
Despite the small sample, this preliminary study highlights the importance of teacher attributions for challenging student behavior in developing positive STR. Future research will further examine this association in a larger sample of teachers and students, including the influence of moderating factors.