Exploring Teacher Factors that Influence Teacher-Child Relationships in Head Start: : A Grounded Theory

Authors

Shiyi Chen, Florida State UniversityFollow
Beth Phillips, Florida State UniversityFollow

Abstract

The purpose of this paper was to explore factors that influence teacher-child relationships in Head Start. Three Head Start teachers from three centers were recruited for this study. Interview and observation data were analyzed using a grounded theory approach by using the qualitative data analysis software NVivo. Two coders completed the coding process. Inter-coder reliability and other triangulation techniques were employed to ensure the credibility of this study. The analysis revealed factors that teachers perceived as beneficial or harmful to their relationships with children. Three main themes emerged: professionalism (i.e., teacher beliefs, education, and work experience), teacher self-efficacy (i.e., teacher empowerment, children’s progress, and sufficient education and work experience), and job stress (i.e., lacking organizational support, teacher-parent conflict, workload, and insufficient training). The data vividly illustrated the mechanisms through which those influential factors might work. The results may have implications for teacher education and fostering positive teacher-child relationships in Head Start.

Keywords

Head Start, Poverty, Teacher-Child Relationship, Self-Efficacy, Stress, Grounded Theory

Author Bio(s)

Shiyi Chen is a doctoral candidate in Florida State University, her primary research interest is preschool teacher-child relationships and occupational well beings of teachers working with children living in poverty. Correspondence regarding this article can be addressed directly to: sc12w@my.fsu.edu.

Beth Phillips is an associate professor in Florida State University. Her primary research interest is early language development. Correspondence regarding this article can also be addressed directly to: bphillips@fcrr.org.

Publication Date

1-6-2018

Creative Commons License

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-Noncommercial-Share Alike 4.0 International License.

DOI

10.46743/2160-3715/2018.2962

Recommended APA Citation

Chen, S., & Phillips, B. (2018). Exploring Teacher Factors that Influence Teacher-Child Relationships in Head Start: : A Grounded Theory. The Qualitative Report, 23(1), 80-97. https://doi.org/10.46743/2160-3715/2018.2962