Teacher-child relationship: a meeting of minds

From a Vygotskian point of view, this study highlights the relevance of considering\r\nthe teaching-learning processes as characterized by the interaction of the child with the\r\nOther, where the other is both culture and person. The aim of the work is to explore\r\nthe representation of the teacher-child relationship from both partners’ perspective, in\r\nconnection with different functions linked to it, from the relational-affective ones to the\r\nteaching-learning ones. Thirty-five teachers, randomly selected among those that during\r\na week spend the most of the time with children, were given The Teacher Relationship\r\nInterview (TRI). Thirt-five children, aged from 6 to 10 years, were given the Separation\r\nAnxiety Test (SAT) (Family and School versions) and the Child Relationship Interview.\r\nAnalyses showed significant positive associations between the representations of the\r\nrelationship that the actors establish (TRI and Child Relationship Interview) and the\r\nquality of the attachment the child has developed with the teacher (SAT School). The\r\nresults showed that the adult-child relationship represents a “meeting between minds”,\r\nthat is, an intersubjective process where the understanding of both our own and other\r\npeople`s emotions and thoughts could become a rich opportunity for learning, and a\r\nprotective factor for the child as well as an enrichment for both partners.