Evaluation, Maintenance and Enhancement of Teacher-Child Relationship

This study investigates the current evaluation, maintenance, and enhancement of teacher-child relationships in Chinese kindergartens from managers' perspective. Through in-depth interviews conducted with 21 kindergarten managers from various provinces and followed by coding and analysis of the interview data. The research findings indicate that: (1) Kindergartens primarily evaluate teacher-child relationships through observations by managers (71.19%), parents' feedback (22.03%), and the use of teacher-child scales (7.69%). (2) Three key strategies were employed, effective management practices (53.45%), provision of professional development opportunities (33.62%), and the inclusion of stakeholders in activity-centered approaches (12.93%), to ensure the establishment of positive relationships between teachers and children. (3) Problem-oriented interventions (70.15%) and proactive positive education (29.85%) are identified as effective approaches to assist teachers in improving teacher-child relationships. Research recommendations include the utilization of a wider array of technologies and scales to comprehensively evaluate teacher-child relationships from diverse perspectives; the creation of conducive environments for teacher-child interaction and parent-teacher communication to safeguard teacher-child relationships; and the implementation of more positive education initiatives to aid teachers in enhancing teacher-child relationships.