Review_Author: Kellie Anderson
Book_Author: Robert C. Pianta
Book_Title: Enhancing Relationships Between Children and Teachers
Reference: 1999, Washington, DC, APA
Date: 4/30/00
Time: 8:19:24 PM
Remote Name: 128.175.144.171
mailto:
Enhancing Relationships between Children and Teachers. (1999). Pianta, R. C. APA: Washington, DC
Enhancing Relationships is a book that is written by Robert Pianta, a professor of clinical and school psychology at the University of Virginia. I originally chose this book because it was aimed at school psychologists, counselors and other mental health professionals - upon reading it I have discovered that much of it relates to the content and context of our class as well. In his introduction, Pianta describes the purpose and characteristics of the book. He says "I draw on research in social development and relationship-systems theory to describe the role of child-adult relationships in the development of social and academic competencies and the potential of child-teacher relationships to promote healthy development" (p. 4).
Pianta then describes the importance of supportive relationships for both children and teachers. Teachers, he argues, derive much of their teaching pleasure from the interactions between themselves and the students. In addition, relationships are major contributors the healthy development of children (both parent-child and teacher-child. In addition, supportive relationships can be preventative, because they can operate as a protective mechanism for "at risk" children. That is, a child's developmental pathway can be altered depending on the presence of supportive adult-child relationships.
Pianta also believes that interventions used by psychologists in the schools needs to be grounded in theory (Context note: this is not always practiced in the schools; that is, interventions are sometimes tried in a menu or trial and error format, rather than based on any specific theory). In addition, interventions must be applied in the context or contexts in which the problem occurs (vs. the traditional model whereby the student is sent to the counselor's office to be fixed).
The theory that Pianta bases his work on is "general systems theory" or (GST). Briefly, GST says "systems are units composed of sets of interrelated parts that act in an organized, interdependent ways to promote the adaptation of the survival of the whole unit" (p. 24). Examples of systems include classrooms, schools, families, child-teacher relationships, the individual child, etc. In addition, the whole of the system is greater than the sum of its parts and as such, the system cannot be broken down into single units and be fully understood. In order to understand the system, one must examine the dynamic properties of the whole, in relation to its context. Pianta then links the GST theory to Vygotsky's zone of proximal development; in his analysis, the ZPD embodies systemic principles. That is, a child's performance on a task is not a characteristic of the child, but a result of the interaction between himself and the teacher (ZPD). Pianta's discussion of systems is somewhat new within the school psychology literature; although some people do write from a systems perspective, many school psychologists attempt to "solve the problems" through an intra-child examination. For example, Pianta argues that a child's aggression or attention cannot be understood by itself, but rather that it has to be understood within the context of the situation. Clearly, other disciplines in the school psyc field (e.g., neurobiology) would say something very different. Pianta also applies this same logic to teachers, classrooms and schools; for instance, he writes that "it is not possible to understand why a teacher has difficulty maintaining behavioral expectations (the part) without knowing how that activity relates to the purpose of these other concerns (the whole)" (p. 34).
After describing other theory-related work, Pianta moves on to talk about the child as a developing system, and child-adult relationships. He notes that the parent-child relationship is typically thought of as the most defining, and the most critical for early development; however, Pianta also believes that much can be gained from the child-teacher relationship. Particularly for those children who have not developed strong relationships with their parents, a stable, supportive, structured relationship between teacher and child can provide the necessary context for development.
The second half of the book is somewhat of a how-to section for practitioners. First, Pianta addresses various ways to assess teacher-child relationships (e.g., rating scales, interviews). He provides three case studies of varying relationship patterns between teachers and students (some warmer/more supportive than others). He then describes ways that school practitioners can begin to support teachers, students and relationships in the classroom, school and district level. One example that Pianta presents is called "Banking Time." This is an activity whereby a teacher would spend 5-15 minutes with a target student. The teacher is instructed to not be directive or punitive, but rather to listen to the child, be directed by the child, and simply be with the child. This creates positive experiences for the child, and thus when negative experiences occur (conflicts, etc.), the relationship has already been established (i.e., good time has already been "banked"). Pianta also discusses interventions related to the classroom (e.g., reducing child transitions, effective behavior management systems) and larger system interventions (e.g., changing school policy). Finally, he presents limitations of the current research as well as implications for the future.
Overall, I thought that Pianta's book was excellent. From a school psychologist in training perspective, it is both thoughtful and thought-provoking. Pianta's writing also strikes a balance between being "scholarly" and "readable"; that is, he neither dumbs down his subject matter nor elevates it. In addition, the book is very comprehensive. It starts by setting up a context, provides necessary theory and then goes on to address assessment and intervention issues. Examples are provided throughout the book to help anchor his concepts. I felt that he provided a wholistic discussion on the topic, which can be rare. In addition, his research and resources are extremely timely and comprehensive, so that I felt able to follow up on several areas if I desired. Finally, the most important contribution is in the concept of child-adult relationships. This is an area that school psychologists tend to take for granted, or tend to assume is unchangeable and Pianta gives us tools to think otherwise.
In addition, I believe that much of Pianta's writing is in line with the concepts that we have discussed in this class. He clearly believes not only in the importance of social relationships, but also that social relationships define development. In addition, he strongly advocates that no "problems" be looked at in isolation, but rather that the context of the situation and systems. He also continually emphasizes the ZPD throughout his discussion, and often provides examples to illustrate the concept as well. The main area that we have addressed in class that Pianta does not discuss is the differences between cultures - that is, that the teacher and child may come from different cultures and systems, and what the implications are of these differences. In fact, Pianta describes culture as a somewhat distal layer, rather than being pervasive throughout all of the systems. Although Pianta does indicate that the context will be different for each child, he does not provide examples that would help demonstrate to the reader the various cultural differences that may occur. Finally, it is not clear how much of what Pianta deems as "at risk" our class would call "differences." It seems likely that Pianta is still using the white, middle class definitions of school and schooling and trying to have children be more successful within those traditional systems. Nonetheless, I believe that Pianta is "on the right track" from a socio-cultural perspective, and that it is possible that he may believe more than what he's written. In some ways, what Pianta is writing requires a radical shift in thinking for many school psychologists, and thus, he may simply be holding the second piece back!