Teacher–child relationships in early childhood education and care: Implications for bullying and externalizing and internalizing problems

This study examined associations between teacher–child relationships in early childhood education and care (ECEC) and in Grade 2 with bullying and emotional and behavioral problems in Grade 2, using data from the Norwegian Mother, Father and Child Cohort Study (MoBa; N = 7,478, 50.2% boys). Data were collected between 2011 and 2017, and race and ethnicity data were not collected. In ECEC, conflictual teacher relationships at age 5 were positively correlated with bullying victimization and emotional and behavioral problems, while closeness was negatively associated with both outcomes. At age 8, similar results were found for teacher–child relationships and child outcomes. Longitudinally, higher teacher–child conflict in ECEC (age 5) was related to higher bullying behavior and emotional and behavioral problems at age 8. Results highlight the importance of teacher–child relationships in early childhood for children's emotional and behavioral problems and social development.