Children's Temperament and Teachers' Decisions

Abstract

Findings from a series of studies of the educational implications of children's temperament patterns are summarized. This research has been guided by three hypotheses: (1) that there are real individual differences among children in behavioural styles or temperament; (2) that individual variations in children's patterns of temperament influence the nature of their interpersonal interactions; and (3) that perceived variations in temperament become especially powerful influences on adults' decisions when children are handicapped or at risk. Based on these assumptions, the study of temperament has followed two primary lines of research. in the first we have attempted to delineate the hypothesized link between perceived temperament variations and teachers' educational decisions. In the second we have attempted to determine the influence of perceived temperament variations on children's personal-social competence within intervention settings. Findings support a relationship between children's temperament and their achievement and adjustment in school. Temperament was related to measures of children's academic performance and to teachers' perceptions of other aspects of children's school adjustment. Further, teachers' ratings of children's temperament were related to their classroom management decisions. The results suggest that teachers' responses to children in the classroom are mediated by their perceptions of the children's temperament.

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