Capturing classroom relational climate using teacher ratings of relational quality with individual students

Teacher–student relationships are resources for students' learning and development. Effectively supporting these relationships in elementary schools requires clear conceptualization and operationalization. Guided by attachment theory, we used multilevel confirmatory factor analysis (ML-CFA) to conceptualize and operationalize teacher–student relational quality—simultaneously—at both the dyadic and classroom levels. Specifically, we decomposed the variance in teachers' ratings of relational quality with individual students into within-classroom (dyadic) and between-classroom (classroom) components, while modeling latent factor structures at each level. Data came from 330 U.S. elementary school teachers who rated their perceived relational quality with each student in their classroom, for an average of 17 students per classroom. ML-CFA results indicated that the same two-factor structure, relational closeness and conflict, exists at both levels. Tests of convergent validity provided evidence of external construct validity for classroom relational conflict, but limited evidence for classroom relational closeness. These findings highlight the importance of simultaneously modeling relational closeness and conflict at both dyadic and classroom levels to enhance precision in understanding teacher–student relationships in elementary classrooms, and provide initial empirical support for the theoretical model underpinning this literature.