How knowledge of teacher-child interactions moderates the association between teacher-child relationships and children's self-regulation

Children's self-regulation is shaped by multiple factors at both the individual and classroom levels. The present study, guided by the ecological system model, explored the role of teachers' knowledge of teacher-child interactions (KTCI) as a moderator in the association between individual teacher-child relationships and children's self-regulation. A two-level hierarchical linear modeling (HLM) approach was employed, analyzing data from 618 children (335 boys and 283 girls, aged 3–6 years) in 42 classrooms. The results revealed that, at the individual level, close teacher-child relationships were positively associated with children's self-regulation, while conflictual and dependent relationships were negatively related to their self-regulation. No significant variation in conflictual relationships was found between the classrooms, while significant variation was observed in close and dependent relationships. At the classroom level, KTCI did not have a direct association with children's self-regulation. However, cross-level moderating effects showed that KTCI, as a “catalyst”, strengthened the positive association between close relationships and children's self-regulation. These findings offer valuable insights into how KTCI and teacher-child relationships may interact and are associated with children's self-regulation, particularly within the Chinese cultural context.