Running Head: CHILD TEMPERAMENT AND TEACHER-CHILD RELATIONSHIPS 1

Child Temperament and Its Impact on Teacher-Child Relationships

Sarah Vinluan

Chaminade University

ED 724 Social-Emotional Development

Jessica Martinez

Fall 2018
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LITERATURE REVIEW

Temperament

Temperament is a term that refers to an individual’s intrinsic tendencies to act or react in

specific and predictable ways to stimuli, people, and events (Oren & Jones, 2009). Temperament

characteristics are influenced by genetics and environment. An individual’s environment has the

heavier influence (Shaffer, 2009). Characteristics of one’s temperament become apparent early

on in life and are fairly stable over time and through various situations.

In young children, certain temperament characteristics cluster in predictable ways. This

creates three broad temperamental profiles - easy, difficult, and slow-to-warm-up. Children with

easy temperaments tend to be even-tempered, usually in a positive mood, and open and adaptable

to new situations. Difficult tempered children are active, irritable, have irregular habits, and are

very slow to adapt to new situations. Lastly, children with slow-to-warm-up temperaments are

somewhat moody, inactive, and slow to adapt to new situations but do not respond as intensely

as difficult children (Shaffer, 2009).

In current literature, much attention has been given to the roles of intellectual or language

ability in academic success. Less information is available regarding the role and importance of

temperament. Researchers and teachers acknowledge that children’s temperaments affect their

reaction to school environments, peers, and academic success (Keogh, 2003). In particular, it

influences students’ relationships with teachers.

During early childhood and throughout elementary years, a child’s teacher is one of the

most influential forces in their development (Yoleri, 2016). Teacher-child relationships provide

children with social support and emotional security. Research shows that the quality of
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teacher-child relationships is related to social and emotional development, behavior, and school

adjustment. However, teacher and child interactions are not a one sided process. The child plays

an active role in the interaction process depending on their temperamental traits. Studies have

shown that child temperament is a significant factor that affects teacher-child interactions and

relationships (Oren & Jones, 2009).

The purpose of this literature review is to investigate current literature that presents

information regarding the connection between child temperament and teacher-child relationships

in early education and elementary classrooms. This topic is important because teacher-child

relationships are crucial to a child’s development. Research also suggest that the quality of these

relationships in early childhood can predict the quality of them in later grades (Rudasill, 2011).

These are reasons why it is important to understand the factors that may affect the success of

teacher-child relationships.

Effects of Child Temperament on Teacher-Child Relationships in the Classroom

Quality of Teacher-Child Relationships

Students who have a high quality and positive relationship with their teacher tend to

adjust well to the demands of formal school, develop better relationships with peers, have fewer

behavior problems, and make the most out of learning opportunities. In addition, these students

tend to enjoy school more and develop good work habits. Negative teacher-child relationships

can hamper a child’s academic achievements, development, and love of learning. It can also

contribute to behavior problems and create a feeling of anxiety or fear about going to school.

Studies show that the quality of these relationships can affect a child’s academic success before
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they reach third grade (Yoleri, 20016). There are two factors of a teacher-child relationship that

affect its quality.

The first factor that contributes to high quality relationships is the closeness between the

child and teacher. Closeness is one of the most important concepts related to the quality of these

relationships. It is the level of open communication established. The closer a teacher-child

relationship is, the more secure the child will feel. This will help them be more comfortable

asking questions in class and exploring learning opportunities. In addition, studies have shown

that students who have closer relationships with their teachers tend to listen more, become more

focused, learn better, and develop positive social skills which correlate with high academic

success, especially in language and math skills. Positive relationships also correlate in lowering

aggressive and antisocial behaviors (Yoleri, 2016).

The second crucial factor that affects relationship quality is the type and frequency of

teacher and child interactions. Through interactive experiences, children learn basic language

and social skills among other academic skills. Research findings show that verbal teacher-child

interactions that expand ideas, ask open-ended challenging questions, help facilitate language

use, and are encouraging facilitate cognitive, language, and social development (Oren & Jones,

2009). There is also a connection between interactions and closeness. Rudasil’s study (2011)

found that children who initiated more interactions with their teacher were found to have higher

closeness ratings.

Research suggests that the temperament and behaviors of a student influences the

closeness and interactions that a child has with their teacher. It can affect a teacher expectations,
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the amount of time spent with the child, and teacher praise and criticism (Oren & Jones, 2009).

This ultimately affects the overall quality of the teacher-child relationship.

Shy and Slow-to-Warm-Up Temperaments

Rudasill (2011) states shy and slow-to-warm-up temperaments hinder young children’s

abilities to form relationships, either positive or negative, with their teachers. High shyness is

related to less conflicts with teachers but also less closeness. Yolrei (2016) found that shy and

withdrawn children are less likely to develop cordiality traits (friendliness, sociability, warmth).

The findings of Oren & Jones (2009) also agree with these statements. In their study, they found

that teachers tend to have less elaborate interactions with children with this type of temperament.

Teachers also asked less open-ended questions. As a result, these children did not receive enough

elaborations to expand their learning experiences to get the most out of it. All of this may be a

consequence of shy and slow-to-warm-up children having less interactions with teachers.

Findings suggest that these children struggle in forming relationships because they are reluctant

or unwilling to initiate interactions (Rudasill, 2011).

Difficult Temperaments

Children who display aggressive, antisocial, and high reactive behavior tend to have

negative relationships with their teachers. Difficult temperaments have been linked to higher

conflict, lower cordiality, and less closeness (Yolrei, 2016). Due to difficult behavior, teachers

are often unable to provide much elaborate interactions with these children, resulting in less rich

learning experiences.

Research findings by Yoleri (2016) provide evidence that teachers are prone to pay more

attention to children with difficult temperaments. This may be due to the constant need to
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monitor behavior and discipline. However, evidence in Rudasil’s study (2011) found that even

though these students had conflictual teacher-child relationships, they also had more interactions

with their teacher and were more likely to initiate these interactions. The frequency of

interactions can have a great influence on teacher-child relationship. Rudasill suggest that even

though these interactions regarded negative behavior, it helped students and teachers to build

rapport. The frequent contact eventually led higher closeness with difficult tempered children.

This can lead to higher quality relationships and diminish difficult behavior. Research findings

show that as the quality of teacher-child relationships increase, the reactivity of difficult

tempered children will decrease (Yolrei, 2016).

Easy Temperaments

Children who are easy going and sociable often initiate more interactions with their

teachers. These child-initiated interactions create a closer teacher-child relationship and leads to

higher quality connections (Rudasill, 2011). Findings suggests that teachers tend to asks more

open-ended and challenging questions to easy tempered students, engaging them more in

learning. Although children with easy temperaments tend to have positive relationships, they are

sometimes ignored by the teacher because they demand less attention (Oren & Jones, 2009).

Since teachers do not worry about these students as much as difficult children, they tend to

interact more with those who need help or discipline. This can lower the quality and amount of

interactions with easy tempered students.

Temperament of Teachers

As stated earlier, teacher-child relationships are not one-sided. Both the teacher and child

play active roles. Besides a child’s temperament affecting the relationship, the teacher’s
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temperament should also be considered. In some instances, there may not be a strong goodness

of fit between the temperament of the teacher and child. Oren and Jones (2009) described an

incident of this which was observed during their research study. In this incident, the teacher was

outgoing, confident, and considered an extrovert. During circle time, one of the teacher’s

students was reciting a poem. This student was a shy five-year-old female who spoke in a very

soft voice. In a firm manner, the teacher kept telling the girl that she had to work on her weak

voice. This student became embarrassed and her voice became weaker. The teacher did not

realize how her manner and behavior was affecting the child. This observation illustrates how a

teacher’s temperament can be a significant factor in their relationship with children who have

different temperament characteristics than theirs.

Strengths and Limitations

A strength of the current literature regarding temperament and teacher-child relationships

is that the research studies chosen for this review all use a large sample of children. In addition,

one was a longitudinal study which investigated how teacher-child relationships in first grade

affects relationships in third grade. The current literature also adequately explains why

teacher-child relationships are crucial to child development.

Limitations of the current literature include socioeconomic class, age, and culture. Many

of the participants of the studies were from middle to upper-middle class families. The research

studies also only investigated teacher-child relationships up to third grade. By expanding

research to include lower income families and older children, more information about

temperament and relationships could be gathered. In addition, researchers could observe the

mechanics and influences of teacher-child relationships in middle and high school students.
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Lastly, the current research did not include aspects of culture. Cultural differences in how

a child’s behavior is viewed can lead to misunderstandings, incorrect teacher perceptions, and

disagreements with parents (Keogh, 2003). Future research should focus on the relationship

between temperament and teacher-child relationships of older children and adolescents, as well

as the role that culture may have.

Conclusion

The current literature about child temperament investigates many aspects of how it

affects the relationship of teachers and students. This information should be used to educate

teachers. Many teachers do not have in depth knowledge about temperament but are aware that

each child has different temperament characteristics. Their interactions and relationships with

students are affected by these characteristic and can cause teachers to treat each child differently

without realizing it. This knowledge can also be applied to help place students with teachers who

will be a good fit with that student’s temperament. Lastly, when teachers have an understanding

of each child’s temperament, they are able to plan individualized approaches specific to each

student in order to meet their needs.

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REFERENCES

Keogh, B. (2003). ​Temperament in the classroom: Understanding individual differences.

Harvard Educational Review. Retrieved from

http://hepg.org/her-home/issues/harvard-educational-review-volume-74-issue-2/herbookn

ote/temperament-in-the-classroom_65

Oren, M., & Jones, I. (2009). The relationship between child temperament, teacher-child

relationships, and teacher-child interactions. ​International Education Studies, 2,1​ 22-133.

Retrieved from https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1065775.pdf

Rudasill, K. (2011). Child temperament, teacher-child interactions, and teacher-child

relationships: A longitudinal investigation from first to third grade. ​Early Childhood

Research Quarterly, 26, ​147-156. doi: 10.1016/j.ecresq.2010.07.002.

​ elmont, CA: Cengage

Shaffer, D. (2009). ​Social and Personality Development, Sixth Edition. B

Learning

Yoleri, S. (2016). Teacher-child relationships in preschool period: The roles of children

temperament and language skills. ​International Electronic Journal of Elementary

Education, 9, ​210-224. Retrieved from: https://files.eric.ed.gov/fulltext/EJ1126662.pdf