Matter of Trust:: Connecting Teachers and Learners in the Early Childhood Classroom

Increasingly, teachers report that the young children who enter their classrooms are difficult to manage. This perception is supported by alarming statistics on the number of children growing up in difficult life circumstances. In this volume, the authors draw on their experiences as a developmental psychologist and as a teacher educator to provide ways for teachers to create positive child-teacher relationships and classroom climates.

This forward-looking volume:

• Applies attachment theory to child-teacher relationships, maintaining that a child's ability to learn depends on negotiating a trusting relationship with the teacher.
• Explores strategies that teachers can use to foster positive student behavior and build successful classroom communities.
• Provides narrative examples from early childhood classrooms serving primarily low-income children of color.
• Uses stories from exemplary classrooms as well as those in which teachers are struggling with relationships.