Bidirectional Associations Between Classroom Climate and Children’s Social–emotional Skills and Problem Behaviors in Preschool

Lucia Stillerova

Advisor: Timothy W Curby, PhD, Department of Psychology

Committee Members: Ellen Rowe, Robert Pasnak

David J. King Hall, #1024
April 18, 2018, 01:00 PM to 03:00 PM

Abstract:

Classrooms are defined by quality of social interactions between students and teachers, creating an overall classroom climate quality described by positivity or negativity. Teachers play an important role in fostering classroom climate quality affecting children’s social-emotional skills and problem behaviors in the classroom. Interactions with teachers in the classroom influence children’s development and these interactions are affected by children’s characteristics. Thus, current study discusses the nature of these interactions, with teachers influencing children and children influencing teachers. In the present study data from Appletree preschools in Washington DC examined the bidirectional associations between classroom climates (positive and negative), children's social–emotional skills and problem behaviors