Exploring the Relationship Between Preschool Teacher Perceptions of Positive Teacher-Child Relationships and Classroom Practice

In 2015, it was estimated that 4 million children entered kindergarten without the necessary skills to succeed (U.S Department of Education, 2015). This academic and social deficit places children at a disadvantage which can be avoided when children are exposed to supportive learning environments characterized by positive relationships (Curby, et.al, 2009). The CLASS observation (Pianta, La Paro, & Hambre, 2008) classifies best practices in teacher-child interactions which are placed in dimensions within three major domains. This research explores which dimensions teachers identify as important and the relationship with observed practices as identified by CLASS. 16 teachers ranked CLASS dimensions in order of importance followed by a CLASS observation and relationship between the two was examined. This study supports the idea that teachers do practice the aspects of teacher-child interactions that they consider important, however a larger population sample is required to further this belief