Ibrahim H. Acar

Temperament and Preschool Children’s Peer Interactions

Research Findings: The current study is an examination of children’s temperament as a predictor of their interactions with peers in preschool, with a particular focus on children’s regulatory temperament characteristics (i.e., inhibitory control and attentional focusing) as moderators of associations between shyness and interactions with peers. Participants were 40 children (19 boys) ages 3 to 5 years enrolled in 8 different preschools in a midwestern city in the United States. Temperament was assessed via parent report when children were approximately 3 years old, and peer interactions were assessed via observations of children during the preschool day (using the Individualized Classroom Assessment Scoring System; J. T. Downer, L. M. Booren, O. K. Lima, A. E. Luckner, & R. C. Pianta, 2010) when the children were 4 years old. Attentional focusing moderated the association between shyness and children’s communication and conflict during peer interactions. Inhibitory control and attentional focusing were inversely related to peer conflict, and attentional focusing was positively related to sociability, communication, and assertiveness in peer interactions. Limitations of the current study and future directions are also discussed. Practice or Policy: Teachers can facilitate young children’s peer interaction by recognizing children’s regulatory and reactive temperamental characteristics.

The contributions of relationships with parents and teachers to Turkish children’s antisocial behaviour

Abstract The present study examined the concurrent contributions of parent–child and teacher–child relationship quality to Turkish children’s antisocial behaviour, with a specific focus on the moderating role of teacher–child relationships (closeness and conflict) on parent–child relationships when predicting antisocial behaviour. Participants were 94 children (56 boys) with mean age of 7.05 years (SD = .88) enrolled in 24 classrooms from five elementary schools in a suburban school district in Turkey. Mothers reported on their relationship with children and teachers reported on their relationships with children as well as children’s antisocial behaviour. SAS PROC MIXED was used to test hierarchical regression models of children nested within classrooms. Results showed that teacher–child conflict moderated the association between parent–child conflict and children’s antisocial behaviour. Such that, higher parent–child conflict was related to higher levels of antisocial behaviour at the context of higher levels of teacher–child conflict. In addition, teacher–child closeness also moderated the association between parent–child conflict and children’s antisocial behaviour. Such that when teacher–child closeness was at average or high levels, lower levels of parent–child conflict was related to lower levels of antisocial behaviour. Teacher–child conflict was positively associated with children’s antisocial behaviour. Limitations and future directions of the current study are discussed.

Parenting and Turkish children’s behaviour problems: the moderating role of qualities of parent–child relationship

ABSTRACT The current study is an examination of contributions of parenting styles and qualities of parent–child relationship (PCR) to Turkish children’s externalizing and internalizing behaviours, with a specific focus on the moderating role of PCR (closeness and conflict) on parenting styles (authoritarian and democratic/authoritative) when predicting children’s externalizing and internalizing behaviours. Participants were 94 children (56 boys) with the mean age of 7.05 years (SD = 0.88) in a suburban district in Turkey. Mothers reported on their parenting styles and relationships with their children as well as children’s externalizing and internalizing behaviours. Results from regression analyses showed that parent–child closeness significantly moderated the association between authoritarian parenting and children’s externalizing behaviours. Parent–child conflict significantly moderated the association between authoritarian parenting and children’s internalizing behaviours. The parent–child conflict was positively associated with children’s externalizing behaviour and authoritarian parenting was positively associated with internalizing behaviour. Limitations and future directions of the current study are discussed.

The association between teachers’ innovativeness and teaching approach: The mediating role of creative classroom behaviors

We examined the associations between teachers’ innovativeness, creative classroom behaviors, and teaching approach (constructivist and traditional) focusing in particular, on the mediating role of teachers’ creative classroom behaviors in the relationship between their innovativeness and their teaching approach. We recruited 247 teachers (80.6% women, 19.4% men) working in early childhood centers and junior classes at elementary schools in Turkey to participate in the study. Participants reported on their innovativeness, creative classroom behaviors, and teaching approach. There was a positive association between creative classroom behaviors and use of the constructivist teaching approach, and a negative association between innovativeness and use of the traditional teaching approach. Mediation analysis results showed that there was an indirect effect from innovativeness to the constructivist teaching approach through creative classroom behaviors but this effect did not occur when a traditional teaching approach was used. Implications of our findings are discussed.

Examining the Association Between Executive Functions and Developmental Domains of Low-Income Children in the United States and Turkey

This study examined the relations between executive functions and developmental domains of preschool children from low-income families through an intercultural perspective in the U.S. and Turkey. A total of 471 children and their primary caregivers participated in the Turkey part of the study, while 286 children and their parents engaged in U.S. sample. Regression analyses revealed that fine motor, problem solving, and executive functions of children between two contexts were significantly different from each other. In the U.S., executive functions predicted communication, problem solving, and fine motor development, whereas in the Turkish sample, executive functions did not predict domain scores. Child gender predicted four of five developmental outcomes in the U.S., whereas maternal education predicted two of five outcomes in Turkey. In addition, invariance testing demonstrated that predictors to outcomes were not significantly different between the two countries. Country differences from the first set of outcomes were explained in the context of the research sites, children’s socialization, and cultural expectations surrounding child development. This study raises questions about relations between executive functions and developmental domains for future research.

Transition Practices and Children’s Development During Kindergarten: The Role of Close Teacher-Child Relationships

Children’s early school success is critical, and evidence suggests that when kindergarten teachers provide more transition practices as children prepare to enter kindergarten, they show improved outcomes in kindergarten. Positive teacher-child relationships may be a link between transition practices and children’s school success. Here we examine whether teacher-child closeness mediates between kindergarten teachers’ use of transition practices and children’s academic and social growth during kindergarten. Data for this study came from the National Center for Early Development and Learning’s (NCEDL) Multi-State Study of Pre-Kindergarten. Children from 240 pre-K classrooms from six states were followed from pre-K to kindergarten. For this study, 730 children were included and were ethnically diverse: 40% White, 24% Black/African-American, and 26% Latinx. Three main findings emerged: (1) teacher-child closeness was predictive of children’s growth in multiple academic and behavioral outcomes in kindergarten; (2) transition practices were positively related to teachers’ perceptions of closeness with children in kindergarten; and (3) teacher-child closeness mediated the association between transition practices and children’s academic and behavioral outcomes. Implications are discussed.

Difficult temperament and children’s peer relations: the moderating role of quality of parent–child relationships

ABSTRACT The current study is an examination of contributions of difficult temperament and qualities of parent–child relationship to Turkish children’s peer relations, with a specific focus on the moderating role of parent–child relationships (closeness and conflict) on difficult temperament when predicting children’s peer relations. Participants were 94 children (56 boys) with the mean age of 7.05 years (SD = .88) enrolled in 24 classrooms from five elementary schools in a suburban school district in Turkey. Mothers reported on parent–child relationships and child temperament, and teachers reported on peer relations. Results from the hierarchical regression analyses showed that parent–child conflict was negatively associated with children’s peer relations. Parent–child conflict moderated the association between children’s difficult temperament and their peer relations. Children who experienced low levels of parent conflict and were not temperamentally difficult showed more positive peer relations as rated by their teachers. Limitations and future directions of the current study are discussed.

The Characteristics of Elementary School Teachers' Lifelong-Learning Competencies: A Convergent Mixed-Methods Study

Citation: Acar, I. H., & Ucus, S. (2017). The characteristics of elementary school teachers’ lifelong-learning competencies: A convergent mixed-methods study. Educational Sciences: Theory & Practice, 17, 1833–1852. http://dx.doi.org/10.12738/estp.2017.6.0082 1 Correspondence to: Ibrahim H. Acar (PhD), Department of Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Education, Istanbul Medipol University, Room C-307 Kavacık Mah. Ekinciler Cad. No: 19 KavacıkBeykoz, İstanbul Turkey. Email: ihacar@gmail.com 2 Department of Early Childhood Education, Faculty of Education, Ahi Evran University, Kirsehir, Turkey. Email: sukran.ucus@ahievran.edu.tr Abstract This study aims to address the characteristics of elementary school teachers’ lifelong-learning competencies using a convergent parallel mixed methods design. The participants are 203 elementary school teachers (71.9% female, 28.1% male) for the quantitative strand of the study and 25 randomly selected elementary school teachers for the qualitative strand. Teachers report their lifelong-learning competencies in the quantitative strand, and semi-structured interviews are conducted with teachers in the qualitative strand. Quantitative data are analyzed using cluster analyses, and qualitative data are analyzed using an opencoding system, after which the quantitative and qualitative results are merged. Cluster analyses show teachers to be categorized into three cluster groups (high, medium, and low) that reflect their lifelong learning self-management, learning-how-to-learn, initiative and entrepreneurship, information acquisition, decision-making, and digital competencies. The results also show teachers to differ in their competencies depending on which cluster group they belong to. Teachers in the high cluster group show higher levels of lifelong learning competencies, whereas teachers in the low group show lower levels. The qualitative analyses from the interviews consistently show teachers to have similar perceptions of lifelong learning that reflect the cluster group they belong to from the quantitative strand. Findings from the current study highlight the importance of lifelong learning competencies in the teaching profession.