Shaping Student Relationships: The Role of Personality in Early Childhood Pre-Service Teachers

Abstract

The purpose of this explanatory sequential mixed-methods study is to explain teacher–student relationships in preschool classrooms in terms of the child’s temperament and the pre-service preschool teachers’ personalities. The study was conducted using a sequential exploratory mixed-methods design. Since both quantitative and qualitative data were obtained, sampling was carried out in two stages: quantitative random stratified sampling, and qualitative purposive sampling. Quantitative data were obtained from 126 pre-service teachers. The qualitative study group consisted of 18 pre-service teachers. Quantitative data were collected using the Student–Teacher Relationship Scale-Short Form, the Short Temperament Scale for Children (STSC), and the Five Factor Personality Inventory (FPI). Qualitative data were obtained from interviews with 18 teachers. The findings revealed that the student–teacher relationship can be explained by adult and child characteristics. In addition, pre-service teachers’ perceptions of the student–teacher relationship are explained by adult characteristics much more than pre-service teachers’ perceptions.