Congruence within the Parent-Teacher Relationship: Associations with Children’s Functioning

Meaningful interactions between families and schools benefit multiple facets of children’s functioning including their academic, social, and behavioral adjustment (Christenson & Sheridan, 2001). Positive relationships between parents and teachers predict children’s enhanced social-emotional functioning and academic adjustment across time (Izzo, Weissberg, Kasprow, & Fendrich, 1999). Studies of parent-teacher relationships often focus on the association of child outcomes with separate parent or teacher reports of their relationship quality. Little attention has focused on the congruence of perceptions within parent-teacher dyads. It may be the case that when parents and teachers view their relationship in a similar positive light, better connections or partnerships across the home and school environments result, thereby enhancing children’s functioning. Conversely, when parents and teachers hold discrepant views about their relationship, or both view it negatively, they may be less likely to communicate and share goals for children; this disconnect may impede children’s functioning. This study examined the degree to which congruity and incongruity in parent and teacher views of their relationship are related to children’s academic, social, and behavioral functioning. Congruity was examined using a categorical approach: o Positive congruence: parents and teachers share positive views about their relationship o Non-positive congruence: parents and teachers share non-positive views about their relationship o Incongruence: parents and teachers hold differing views about the quality of their relationship Research Question and Hypothesis Is congruence/incongruence between parents and teachers in their views of their relationship related to children’s academic, social, and behavioral functioning? It was hypothesized that congruent, positive views of the parent-teacher relationship would be associated with children’s enhanced academic, social, and behavioral functioning to a greater extent than non-positive congruent or incongruent views