Jantine L. Spilt

Current measures of teacher−student relationships (TSRs) often emphasize relational constructs (e.g., trust, liking) but overlook specific teacher behaviors that foster these relationships. In particular, there is limited research on how TSRs are built and maintained in secondary education. One notable exception is the newly developed Teacher Affiliative Practices−Student Perspective (TAP‐S), an instrument designed to assess students' perceptions of teachers' everyday relationship‐building and relationship‐maintaining practices in secondary schools. Given the scale's limitations, the purpose of this study was to refine the TAP‐S and further evaluate the psychometric properties of the revised instrument in both its general form (assessing perceptions of teachers in general) and its specific form (assessing perceptions of one particular teacher). A total of 393 secondary school students participated ( M age = 12.71 years, SD = 0.68; 52.7% boys), all from the 7th and 8th grade of secondary education. Exploratory and confirmatory factor analyses (EFA and CFA) revealed a three‐factor structure for the general scale—sensitive care, disregard, and relational openness—and a two‐factor structure for the specific scale—sensitivity and openness, and disregard. Both scales demonstrated good convergent validity, with factors significantly related to student reports of affiliation and dissatisfaction as measured by well‐validated instruments. The measure further showed strong reliability, criterion and discriminant validity, indicating that students' perceptions of teacher support or disregard are meaningfully associated with their overall school engagement and well‐being. These findings suggest that the revised TAP‐S is a valid tool for assessing teachers' affiliative practices from students' perspectives and show promise for guiding future interventions.

High-quality early childhood education (ECE) lays the foundation for children’s lifelong learning and development. It offers children important opportunities to acquire essential pre-academic compe...

This paper provides a comprehensive overview of Psychology in the Schools ( PITS ), the second‐longest‐running journal in the field of school psychology. Since its founding in 1964, PITS has served as a central outlet for research and practice focused on the intersection of psychology and education, with an emphasis on advancing the practice of school psychology. The paper highlights the enduring legacy of PITS in advancing school psychology practice, including the journal's origins, editorial leadership, and evolving scope, including contributions from editors William A. Hunt, B. Claude Mathis, Gerald B. Fuller, LeAdelle Phelps, David E. McIntosh, and the incoming editor Shane R. Jimerson. A decade‐by‐decade analysis illustrates the major themes represented in the journal, including role definition and assessment in the 1960s, consultation and behavior change in the 1970s, mainstreaming and intervention research in the 1980s, data‐based decision‐making and discipline in the 1990s, workforce issues and Response to Intervention (RTI) in the 2000s, equity and prevention science in the 2010s, and mental health, crisis readiness, and Multi‐Tiered Systems of Support (MTSS) in the 2020s. The article also highlights the contemporary emphasis of PITS in advancing the practice of school psychology internationally. Representative articles from each decade are cited and summarized, demonstrating how PITS has consistently bridged research and practice to support students, educators, and the profession of school psychology. The article also describes the vision of the leadership team, emphasizing three intertwined priorities: strengthening the quality and timeliness of the peer review process, advancing rigorous scholarship that directly informs practice, and expanding diversity, equity, and inclusion across the journal's leadership, contributors, and published research.

Intervention is considered the ultimate goal of the diagnostic process. However, when diagnostic assessment is largely focused on student (mal)adjustment and when the role and perspective of the teacher is not systematically evaluated, the assessment may fail to generate useful recommendations for intervention or teacher consultation. Based on a descriptive case report, the potential contribution of the Teacher Relationship Interview in making the assessment phase more relevant to intervention is outlined and illustrated.

Attachment theory has played a prominent role in the study of affective relationships between teachers and individual children in school settings. This review synthesizes three decades of attachment-based research on teacher-child relationships roughly covering the period between 1992 and 2022. Five key themes were discussed: (1) conceptualization and assessment, (2) secure base and autonomous exploration, (3) safe haven and self-regulation, (4) attachment history and relationship (dis)continuity, and (5) teacher sensitivity and mentalization. Following a narrative review approach, a selection of pivotal research studies was made and chronologically presented to illustrate research developments per theme. The results indicated that the conceptualization and assessment of teacher-child relationships holds largely, but not completely, across different developmental phases, cultural contexts, measurement methods, and informants. In addition, research confirmed the role of the secure base and safe haven functions of teacher-child relationships in promoting children’s emotional security at school. Furthermore, progression has been made through the development of multiple measurement methods for both teachers and children, by expanding research from early childhood education up to secondary education, and by more recent cross-cultural studies. However, there is still limited insight in mechanisms that explain (dis)continuity in relationships over time, and a striking lack of research on dyadic teacher sensitivity and mentalization as antecedents of teacher-child relationships. Research directions for the following decade(s) of research are discussed per theme.

Background: Research on dyadic teacher–child relationships has grown rapidly. However, a review of relevant theories and its implications for assessment and intervention has been lacking so far. Methods: A selective review of theories, empirical evidence and interventions was conducted. Results and Conclusions: Different theories highlight distinct aspects of teacher–child relationships and have different implications for assessment and intervention. The attachment perspective on dyadic teacher–child relationships is most widely applied in psychological research. Also relatively well‐known is self‐determination theory. However, the interpersonal theory, though widely applied in educational research to teacher–class interactions, has been largely overlooked in research on dyadic teacher–child relationships. The overarching dyadic systems perspective, providing insight in the dynamic interplay between different aspects of teacher–child relationships, also deserves more attention. Recommendations to improve teacher–child relationships address the need for teacher sensitivity, relationship‐based communication and flexibility in interpersonal behaviour in everyday teaching.