The Student–Teacher Relationship Scale revisited: Testing factorial structure,measurement invariance and validity criteria in German-speaking samples

The Student–Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS) is widely used for research in kindergarten and school. The increasing number of applications inside and outside of the U.S. stresses the need to investigate STRS properties, accordingly. The present study used the STRS in German-speaking countries, examining whether (a) the original factor structure is appropriate for a German version, (b) whether applications of a German STRS are invariant across contexts (kindergarten, first and second grade) as well as gender, and (c) whether construct and criterion validity are met. The original STRS was translated into German and filled out by 368 kindergarten and 503 elementary school teachers in Germany and Austria. Observations in kindergartens, student reports in schools, and teacher reports of students’ characteristics served as validity criteria. Results of confirmatory factor analyses (CFAs) did not confirm the original STRS factor structure. Subsequent exploratory factor analyses on training samples resulted in significant item reductions, followed by further CFAs on validation samples. The bootstrapped results yielded an adjusted three-factor model with subscales indicating satisfying alphas and invariance across context and gender. Construct and criterion validity were met for all subscales of the German STRS based on various criteria from both, observations and reports.     

How are Closeness and Conflict in Student–Teacher Relationships Associated with Demographic Factors,School Functioning and Mental Health in Norwegian Schoolchildren Aged 6–13?

This study explored the association between teacher-reported student-teacher relationship quality (closeness and conflict) and demographic factors, school functioning and child mental health in a cross-sectional study. The study was conducted among a national sample of Norwegian school children (N?=?825) in grades 1 to 7. Bivariate analyses and standard multiple regression analysis were conducted. Conflict in student–teacher relationships correlated highly with child mental health factors and in particular, problems of externalization. For closeness in student-teacher relationships, demographic factors accounted for the largest proportion of variance. Our findings suggest that different strategies may be needed to promote closeness and reduce conflict in student–teacher relationships.     

Examining factorial validity and measurement invariance of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale

The purposes of this study were to (a) test the hypothesized factor structure of the Student-Teacher Relationship Scale (STRS; Pianta, 2001) for 308 African American (AA) and European American (EA) children using confirmatory factor analysis (CFA) and (b) examine the measurement invariance of the factor structure across AA and EA children. CFA of the hypothesized three-factor model with correlated latent factors did not yield an optimal model fit. Parameter estimates obtained from CFA identified items with low factor loadings and R² values, suggesting that content revision is required for those items on the STRS. Deletion of two items from the scale yielded a good model fit, suggesting that the remaining 26 items reliably and validly measure the constructs for the whole sample. Tests for configural invariance, however, revealed that the underlying constructs may differ for AA and EA groups. Subsequent exploratory factor analyses (EFAs) for AA and EA children were carried out to investigate the comparability of the measurement model of the STRS across the groups. The results of EFAs provided evidence suggesting differential factor models of the STRS across AA and EA groups. This study provides implications for construct validity research and substantive research using the STRS given that the STRS is extensively used in intervention and research in early childhood education.