The Contribution of Homeroom Teachers’ Attachment Styles and of Students’ Maternal Attachment to the Explanation of Attachment-like Relationships between Teachers and Students with Disabilities

David Granot^1,

¹Department of special education, Oranim-Academic College of Education, Tivon, Israel

Cite this paper:
David Granot. The Contribution of Homeroom Teachers’ Attachment Styles and of Students’ Maternal Attachment to the Explanation of Attachment-like Relationships between Teachers and Students with Disabilities. American Journal of Educational Research. 2014; 2(9):764-774. doi: 10.12691/education-2-9-10

Abstract

Over the past 25 years, numerous studies have sought to explore the ways in which the quality of teacher-student relationship develops. Such relationships are considered particularly significant in the case of students diagnosed with learning disabilities (LD) and attention deficit hyperactivity disorder (ADHD). The study involved 65 dyads of Israeli homeroom teachers and their students (mean age = 10.9) with disabilities (LD, ADHD, and LD/ADHD comorbidity) in regular educational settings, receiving special assistance from "integration teachers." The study examined the effect of student-teacher attachment features on day-to-day student-teacher “attachment-like” relationships. Students reported on their felt security with their mother using a maternal attachment security scale. Appraisal of the teacher as a secure base was conducted using availability/acceptance and rejection scales. Teachers completed the attachment style (secure, avoidant, and ambivalent) questionnaire and the teacher-student relationship scale concerning emotional closeness, conflict, and student dependency. Findings show that elementary and junior high school teachers and their students develop relational perceptions of secure and insecure attachment-like relationships. The teachers’ caregiver perception of the relationship was explained strictly by the students’ reports of day-to-day security in the teacher-student relationship. Student care receiver perception of the actual teacher-student relationship was explained with greater sensitivity by maternal attachment security, teacher attachment style, and teacher-reported day-to-day security in the teacher-student relationship. Finally, the teachers’ attachment level of security was found to moderate the association between student maternal attachment security and the students’ appraisal of teacher as a secure base. Students of teachers with a mid-to-high level of attachment security exhibited a positive association, whereas students of teachers with mid-to-low level of attachment security exhibited no association. Implications for teacher education and research are discussed.

Keywords:
teacher-student attachment-like relationships children with disabilities elementary and junior high school students

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License. To view a copy of this license, visit http://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

References:

[1]	Alon-Reshef, A. (1994). Program for application of special education law. Jerusalem: Israeli Ministry of Education.
[2]	Al-Yagon, M. (2009). Comorbid LD and ADHD in childhood: Socioemotional and behavioral adjustment and parent's positive and negative affect. European Journal of Special Education, 24(4), 371-391.
[3]	Al-Yagon, M., & Margalit, M. (2006). Loneliness, sense of coherence and perception of teachers as a secure base among children with reading difficulties. European Journal of Special Education, 21(1), 21-37.
[4]	Al-Yagon, M., & Mikulincer, M. (2004). Socioemotional and academic adjustment among children with learning disorders: The meditational role of attachment-based factors. Journal of Special Education, 38(2), 111-123.
[5]	Al-Yagon, M., & Mikulincer, M. (2006). Children’s appraisal of teacher as a secure base and their socio-emotional and academic adjustment in middle childhood. Research in Education, 75, 1-18.
[6]	American Psychiatric Association. (2000). Diagnostic and Statistical Manual of Mental Disorders (4th ed., text revision). Washington DC: Author.
[7]	Arthur, A. R. (2003). The emotional lives of people with learning disability. British Journal of Learning Disabilities, 31, 25-30.
[8]	Atikem, L. S., & West, S. G. (1991). Multiple regression: Testing and interpreting interactions. California: Sage.
[9]	Baron, R., & Kenny, D. (1986). The moderator-mediator variable distinction in social psychological research: Conceptual, strategic, and statistical considerations. Personality and Social Psychology, 51, 1173-1182.
[10]	Bergin C., & Bergin D. (2009). Attachment in the classroom. Educational Psychology Review, 21, 141-170.
[11]	Birch, S. H., & Ladd, G. W. (1997). The teacher-child relationship and children’s early school adjustment. Journal of School Psychology, 35, 61-80.
[12]	Buyse, E., Verschueren, K., & Doumen, S. (2011). Preschoolers' attachment to mother and risk for adjustment problems in kindergarten: Can teachers make a difference? Social Development, 20, 33-50.
[13]	Conners, C. K., Casat, C. D., Gualtieri, T., & al,. (1996). Bupropion hydrochloride in attention deficit disorder with hyperactivity. Journal of the American Academy of Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 35, 1314-1321.
[14]	Cotterell, J. L. (1992). The relation of attachment and supports to adolescent-well-being and school adjustment. Journal of Adolescent Research, 7, 28-42.
[15]	Davis, H. A. (2003). Conceptualizing the role and influence of student-teacher relationships on children’s social and cognitive development. Educational Psychologist, 38(4), 207-234.
[16]	Hamre, B.K., & Pianta, R. C. (2001). Early teacher-child relationships and the trajectory of children's school outcomes through eighth grade. Child Development, 72, 625-638.
[17]	Harter, S. (1982). The perceived competence scale for children. Child Development, 53, 87-97.
[18]	Hazan, C., & Shaver, P. (1987). Romantic love conceptualized as an attachment process. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 52, 511-524.
[19]	Howes, C., & Hamilton, C. E. (1992). Children’s relationships with caregivers: Mothers and child care teachers. Child Development, 63, 856-866.
[20]	Hughes, J. N. (2012). Teacher-student relationships and school adjustment: Progress and remaining challenges. Attachment & Human Development, 14(3), 319-327.
[21]	Hughes, J. N., Gleason, K. A., & Zhang, D. (2005). Relationship influence on teachers’ perceptions of academic competence in academically at-risk minority and majority first grade classrooms. Journal of School Psychology, 43, 303-320.
[22]	Israeli Ministry of Education General Manager Policy Circular (1994). The homeroom teacher. “Hozer Mankal” Ministry of Education general manager policy circular No 6 –October: http://www.education.org.il./Mankal (10-14) (Hebrew).
[23]	Kernes, K. A., Klepac, L., & Cole, A. (1996). Peer relationships and preadolescents’ perceptions of security in the child-mother relationship. Developmental Psychology, 32, 457-466.
[24]	Kesner, J. E. (2000). Teachers' characteristics and the quality of child-teacher relationships. Journal of School Psychology, 28(2), 133-149.
[25]	Kim, D. M., Wampold, B. E., & Bolt, D. M. (2006). Therapist effects in psychotherapy: A random-effects modeling of the national institute of mental health treatment of depression collaborative research program data. Psychotherapy Research, 16(2), 161-172.
[26]	Koppitz, E. M. (1975). The Bender-Gestalt Test for young children: Research and application, 1963-1973. Orlando: Grune & Stratton.
[27]	Lynch, M., & Cicchetti, D. (1992). Maltreated children’s reports of relatedness to their teachers. In R. C. Pianta (Ed.), New directions in child development. Vol. 57: Relationships between children and non-parental adults (pp. 81-108). San Francisco: Josey-Bass.
[28]	Mikulincer, M., & Erev, I. (1991). Attachment style and the structure of romantic love. British Journal of Social Psychology, 30, 273-291.
[29]	Mikulincer, M., & Orbach, I. (1995). Attachment style and repressive defensiveness: The accessibility and architecture of affective memories. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 68(5), 917-925.
[30]	Murray, C., & Greenberg, M. T. (2006). Examining the importance of social relationships and social contexts in the lives of children with high-incidence disabilities. The Journal of Special Education, 39(4), 220-233.
[31]	Murray, C., & Murray, K. M. (2004). Child level correlates of teacher-student relationships: An examination of demographic characteristics, academic orientations and behavioral orientations. Psychology in the Schools, 41, 751-762.
[32]	Murray, C., & Pianta, R. C. (2007). The importance of teacher-child relationships for adolescents with high incidence disabilities. Theory into Practice, 46, 105-112.
[33]	Myers, S. S., & Pianta, R. C> (2008). Developmental commentary: Individual and contextual influences on student-teacher relationships and children's early problem behaviors. Journal of Clinical Child & Adolescent Psychology, 37, 600-608.
[34]	National Research Council and the Institute for Medicine. (2004). Engaging schools: Fostering high school students’ motivation to learn. Washington, DC: National Academies Press.
[35]	Oppenheim, D., Sagi, A., & Lamb, M. (1988). Infant attachment at the kibbutz and their relation to social-emotional development four years later. Developmental Psychology, 24, 427-434.
[36]	Osterrieth, P. (1946). Le test de copie d’une figure complex. Les Archives de Psychologie, 31, 206-356.
[37]	Pianta, R. C., (1999). Supporting teachers: The key to affecting child-teacher relationships. In R. C. Pianta (Ed.), Enhancing relationships between children and teachers (pp. 125-168). Washington, DC: American Psychological Association.
[38]	Pianta, R. C. (Ed.) (1996). Manual and scoring guide for the Student-Teacher Relationships Scale. Charlottesville: University of Virginia.
[39]	Pianta, R. C. (2006). Classroom management and relationships between children and teachers: Implications for research and practice. In N. M. Evertson and C. S. Weinstein (Eds.), Handbook of classroom management: Research, practice, and contemporary issues (pp. 149-162). Mahwah, NJ: Lawrence Erlbaum Associates.
[40]	Pianta, R. C., Nimetz, S. L., & Bennet, E. (1997). Mother-child relationships, teacher-child relationships and adjustment in preschool and kindergarten. Early Childhood Research Quarterly, 12, 263-280.
[41]	Pianta, R. C., & Steinberg, M. S. (1992). Teacher-child relationships and the process of adjusting to school. New Directions for Child Development, 57, 61-80.
[42]	Sabol, T. J., & Pianta, R. (2012). Recent trends in research on teacher-child relationships. Attachment & Human Development, 14(3), 213-231.
[43]	Spilt, J. L., Koomen, H. M. Y., & van der Leij, A. (2012). Supporting teacher's relationships with disruptive children: The potential of relationships-focused reflection. Attachment & Human Development, 14(3), 305-318.
[44]	Saft, E. W., & Pianta, R. C. (2001). Teachers’ perceptions of their relationships with students: Effects of child age, gender, and ethnicity of teachers and children. School Psychology Quarterly, 16, 125-141.
[45]	Salomon, G., & Mayseless, O. (2003). Dialectic contradictions in the experiences of Israeli Jewish adolescents: Efficacy and stress, closeness and friction, and conformity and non-compliance. In F. Pajares & T. Urdan, (Eds.) Adolescence and Education, Volume III: International perspectives on adolescence (pp. 149-171). Greenwich, CT: Information Age Publishing.
[46]	Schuengel, C. (2012). Teacher-child relationships as a developmental issue. Attachment & Human Development, 14(3), 329-336.
[47]	Slade, A. (2005). Parental reflective functioning: An introduction. Attachment and Human Development, 7, 261-281.
[48]	Statistical Abstract of Israel-CBS (2012). Students with special needs in primary education, by type of disability and type of setting, Statistical annual of Israel, 8.14.
[49]	Vakil, E., & Blachstein, H. (1993). Rey Auditory-Verbal Learning Test: Structure analysis. Journal of Clinical Psychology, 49, 883-890.
[50]	Verschuren, K., & Koomen, H. M. Y. (2012). Teacher-child relationships from an attachment perspective. Attachment & Human Development, 14(3), 205-211.
[51]	Wechsler, D. C. (1991). Wechsler Intelligence Scale for Children. (3d ed.). San Antonio, TX: Psychological Crop.
[52]	Yair, G. (1991). The deprivation index: Paradoxes and empirical assessment, policy implications. Megamot, 34, 5-26 (Hebrew).
[53]	Zionts, L. T. (2005). Examining relationships between students and teachers: A potential extension of attachment theory? In K. A. Kerns and R. A. Richardson (Eds.), Attachment in middle childhood (pp. 231-254). London: Guilford.