The Three Dimensions of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale: CFA Validation in a Preschool Sample.

The purpose of this study is to investigate the validity of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale questionnaire, which consists of three sub-scales. The questionnaire is used to examine teacher-child relationships at daycare facilities and schools for children aged four to nine years. The researchers use a factor analysis to find out whether the questionnaire can be used on children down to four years without changing the validity of the questionnaire. Moreover, the researchers want to examine whether there are gender differences linked to the use of the questionnaire as well as whether there is a discriminant and coinciding validity in relation to all three sub-scales in the questionnaire.

The results show that a modified version of the STRS (Student-Teacher Relationship Scale) is an acceptable version of the questionnaire for both boys and girls, and there are only very weak indications of variance in the factor analysis. The researchers conclude that the results confirm the validity of the STRS for children at daycare-age, but also that no support can be found in the study for a two-factor model. Therefore, the researchers recommend that efforts be put into developing a more conceptually stable and psychometrically solid three-factor model which can better pinpoint children at daycare age with other types of problems than those related to conflicts.

A total of 458 girls and 467 boys aged four years and their early childhood educators took part in the study. These were all children and employees from different daycare facilities in Trondheim in Norway. A total of 86% of the early childhood educators were women, whereas 14% were men. The average age was 38.2 years (with an age spread from 22 to 70 years). One questionnaire, the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (SDQ), was sent to the children’s families and the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) questionnaire was sent to the early childhood educators. The SDQ measures emotional symptoms, behavioural problems, hyperactivity/lack of concentration and problems with relationships with contemporaries.

Solheim, E., Berg-Nielsen, T.S. & Wichstrøm, L. (2012). The Three Dimensions of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale: CFA Validation in a Preschool Sample. Journal of Psychoeducational Assessment 30(3), 250-263.