Emotional correspondence between preschoolers and teachers: what are the effects on child–teacher relationships?

The effects of the emotion regulation skills of the children attending preschool education on their interactions with their teachers are emphasised in recent studies. Therefore, in this study, we examined the effects of emotion regulation skills on the quality of the relationship between the teacher and the child. In total, 39 preschool teachers and 119 preschool children (55 girls and 64) boys from 5 public preschools participated in the study. Teachers were asked to fill Student-Teacher Relationship Scale-Short Form regarding three children in their classrooms and Emotion Regulation Questionnaire for themselves. We conducted four observations by using MPAC-R/S in order to assess child’s abilities to express and regulate emotions. The results showed that children’s emotional states were effective on teacher’s relationship perception, and that teacher’s emotion regulation skills were also effective on his/her relationship perception. In addition, the cognitive reappraisal strategy used by the teacher in emotion regulation has also been found to have an impact on the negative emotional state of children.