An Integrative View of School Functioning: Transactions Between Self-Regulation, School Engagement, and Teacher–Child Relationship Quality
Open accessAbstract
This study investigates the dynamic interplay between teacher–child relationship quality and children's behaviors across kindergarten and first grade to predict academic competence in first grade. Using a sample of 338 ethnically diverse 5-year-old children, nested path analytic models were conducted to examine bidirectional pathways between children's behaviors and teacher–child relationship quality. Low self-regulation in kindergarten fall, as indexed by inattention and impulsive behaviors, predicted more conflict with teachers in kindergarten spring and this effect persisted into first grade. Conflict and low self-regulation jointly predicted decreases in school engagement which in turn predicted first-grade academic competence. Findings illustrate the importance of considering transactions between self-regulation, teacher–child relationship quality, and school engagement in predicting academic competence.
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Children's responses to chronic stress can affect how peers and teachers interact with them, further affecting learning readiness and cognitive engagement.
“Children's responses to chronic stress-including hypervigilance, defiance, and a compromised ability to regulate behavior-can affect how peers and teachers interact with them, further affecting learning readiness and cognitive engagement (e.g., Portilla et al., 2014).”
From Malleability, plasticity, and individuality: How children learn and develop in context<sup>1</sup> (2019) · cites this paper as Portilla et al., 2014
The Self-regulation and Discussion sections (page unavailable) link difficulty regulating behavior with teacher–child conflict, lower school engagement, and difficulty learning. They do not establish that these behaviors are responses to chronic stress, or address hypervigilance, defiance, or changes in how peers interact with the children. (LLM, conf=0.86)
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Cites
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Malleability, plasticity, and individuality: How children learn and develop in context<sup>1</sup>
Cantor, P., Osher, D., Berg, J., Steyer, L., & Rose, T. (2019) · Applied Developmental Science · doi:10.1080/10888691.2017.1398649 · Cited by 328 · see citing works
“Children’s responses to chronic stress—including hypervigilance, defiance, and a compromised ability to regulate behavior—can affect how peers and teachers interact with them, further affecting learning readiness and cognitive engagement (e.g., Portilla et al., 2014).”
BackgroundObradović, J. (2016) · Child Development Perspectives · doi:10.1111/cdep.12164 · Cited by 84 · see citing works
Self-citation
- Authors
- Portilla, X. A., Ballard, P. J., Adler, N. E., Boyce, W. T., & Obradović, J.
- Affiliations
- Stanford University (US)
- University of California, San Francisco (US)
- Corresponding author
- Portilla, Ximena A
- Venue
- Child Development
- Publisher
- Oxford University Press (OUP)
- Published
- 2014-09-01
- Volume
- 85
- Issue
- 5
- Pages
- 1915-1931
- ISSN
- 0009-3920 (ISSN-L)
- 1467-8624
- PMC
- PMC4165700
- OpenAlex
- W1973876873
- Cited by
- 180
- References
- 7
- Citations by year
- 2026: 9 · 2025: 11 · 2024: 14 · 2023: 23 · 2022: 15 · 2021: 22 · 2020: 21 · 2019: 13 · 2018: 20 · 2017: 14 · 2016: 11 · 2015: 6 · 2014: 1
- FWCI
- 54.86
- Type
- journal article
- Language
- en
- Open access
- green
- www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov
- Licence
- Locations
- Child Development (publishedVersion)
- PubMed (publishedVersion)
- PubMed Central (acceptedVersion)
- eScholarship (California Digital Library) (submittedVersion)
- Funders
- National Institute of Mental Health (MH62320)
- Topics
- Social Sciences › Education › Early Childhood Education and Development
- Social Sciences › Education › Educational Environments and Student Outcomes
- Social Sciences › Psychology › Clinical Psychology › Child and Adolescent Psychosocial and Emotional Development
- Keywords
- self-regulation, school engagement, academic competence, inattention, impulsivity, teacher-child conflict, kindergarten, first grade, early childhood
- MeSH terms
- Achievement, Attention, Attitude, Child, Child Behavior, Child, Preschool, Faculty, Female, Humans, Impulsive Behavior, Interpersonal Relations, Male, Middle Aged, Schools
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