linq 2013 session_red_3_grammatikopoulos_gregoriadis_natsi_klapsinou
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Grammatikopoulos, V. Gregoriadis, A.
Natsi, V. Klapsinou, K.
Assessing Student-Teacher relationships:
Implementing the “Dutch” version of STRS
in a Greek sample
STRS (Student-Teacher Relationship Scale)
A widely accepted instrument developed by R. Pianta (1991-2001).
Measures the quality of teacher-child relationships, based on teachers’ perspectives.
Introduction
STRS (Student-Teacher Relationship Scale)
STRS consists of 28 items (Pianta, 2001)
Measures three dimensions of the teacher-child relationship: -Closeness -Conflict -Dependency
Introduction
STRS (Student-Teacher Relationship Scale)
STRS has been used extensively in various countries (US, UK, Germany, Netherlands, Spain, Norway, Italy, etc.)
The three dimensions closeness, conflict and dependency, have been established successfully in different samples in various countries.
Introduction
STRS (Student-Teacher Relationship Scale)
The STRS (28 items) was tested in Greece and the results supported the factorial validity of the scale.
Introduction
However, findings from two separate Greek studies showed that the Dependency factor was positively correlated with the Closeness factor instead of the Conflict factor.
This finding was in contrast with all the other studies at that time.
Introduction
After the two Greek studies, additional findings from the US and Norway confirmed the inconsistencies regarding the Dependency subscale.
On 2012 R. Pianta together with colleagues from the Netherlands (Koomen, Verschueren, van Shooten, Jak, Pianta, 2012) developed a “Dutch” version of the scale that consisted of 34 items and incorporated new items in the dependency factor.
Introduction
Introduction
A widely used and valid scale across different cultures
and educational systems provides the opportunity for
cross-national comparisons.
This is something very important especially in Europe,
where one of the goals of the European Union regarding
education focuses in the homogenization of education
across nations.
Aim of the study
Examine the factor structure of the “Dutch” version of STRS in the Greek educational context . That is to examine whether the proposed structure can be replicated in the ECE in Greece.
Method
Participants
275 teachers who rated their relationships with 1126 students .
Instrument
The ‘Dutch’ version of STRS (Koomen et al., 2012) was used. The scale consisted of 34 items that measure three dimensions of relationships: closeness, dependency, and conflict.
Analysis
Exploratory factor analysis was selected for this initial effort to test the psychometric properties of the STRS. Exploratory analysis was preferred because the Dutch version included items that had not been tested before.
Results
The descriptive statistics regarding the factors of the
scale revealed that the teachers rated high the
Closeness factor (M = 3.46, SD ± .77), low the Conflict
factor (M = 1.67, SD ± .94), and moderate to high the
Dependency factor (M = 2.12, SD ± .96).
Hello
Results
Factor 1 Factor 2 Factor 3
tc22co .792
tc24co .781
tc18co .770
tc20co .738
tc26co .732
tc23co .719
tc25co .633
tc16co .579
tc2co .415
tc11co .414
tc34cl .793
tc27cl .695
tc28cl .669
tc32cl .653
tc5cl -.365 .566
tc21cl .526 .309
tc15cl .509
tc31cl .505 .302
tc7cl .417
tc9cl .349
tc17de .658
tc14de .642
tc10de .628
tc8de .602
tc6de .584
Eigenvalue 5.01 3.90 1.99
% explained variance 20.05 15.61 7.98
Exploratory Factor Analysis
Factor structure was replicated in the Greek sample
Discussion
A 25-item STRS is a valid and reliable scale that measures the three factors/dimensions of the student-teacher relationship in Greece.
Limitation: this was an initial effort. Further studies with advanced statistical methods need to be applied before any solid conclusion can be drawn.
Discussion
Based on the factor mean scores, it can be argued that the
Greek teachers have a warm and supportive relationship with
their students, which is characterized by low levels of Conflict.
Yet, the Dependency factor has moderate to high scores
indicating that in Greece, Dependency is not considered a
behavior that affects negatively the student-teacher
relationships in early childhood education.
Discussion
A possible explanation is that the notion of
autonomy and self-regulation is not considered
equally important in the Greek educational
system as in other societies.
In sum
Discussion
This study showed the applicability of the STRS in the Greek educational context
It encourages researchers to further test the psychometric properties of the scale and also to test it in primary schools.
The cross-cultural validity could provide a common ground for an improved understanding of the cultural differences in the teacher-child relationships across various countries.
