Rethinking the Work of Early Childhood Educators: What Are the Links Between the Quality of the Teacher–Child Relationship and the Child’s Executive Functions?

Positive relationships with teachers in early childhood are important for many areas of child development and achievement. This article aims to explore the links between teacher–child relationships and children’s executive functions. The study was conducted in one preschool, with a sample of 99 children aged 2 to 6 years. Six teachers assessed the quality of their relationships with the children using the Student–Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) and the children’s executive functions using the Childhood Executive Functioning Inventory (CHEXI). The results of the study show that the quality of the teacher–child relationship is closely related to the teacher’s perception of the child’s executive function difficulties: a closer, less conflictual relationship is associated with fewer working memory and inhibition difficulties, while a conflictual relationship is associated with greater difficulties in the child’s executive functions. There is no statistically significant difference between boys and girls in terms of the relationship with the teacher and the expression of children’s executive functions, and in both groups, the quality of the relationship with the teacher can predict the child’s executive functions. Age is statistically significant in only one relationship parameter: older children are perceived as closer to the teacher and more likely to seek help. The data obtained from the study encourage further research and add to the growing body of evidence demonstrating the importance of teacher interaction for children’s development and education.