Links Between Parent-Teacher Relationships and Kindergartners' Social Skills: Do Child Ethnicity and Family Income Matter?

This study uses National Center for Early Development and Learning (NCEDL) data to examine the moderating effects of child ethnicity and family income on the links between parent-teacher relationships and kindergartners' social skills. This study includes 481 Caucasian, African American, and Latino children from low-income households. Overall, there were no ethnic differences in parents' or teachers' reports of their relationships with each other. However, when parents and teachers reported that they had strong relationships, African American children were more likely to be rated as more socially competent and less aggressive than Caucasian children. Teachers reported stronger relationships with higher-income parents than lower-income parents and rated children from lower-income homes as less socially competent and more aggressive than children from higher-income homes. The findings highlight the unique contributions of ethnicity and family income in parent-teacher relationships and ratings of children's social skills.