Date of Award

Summer 2026

Document Type

Open Access Dissertation

Department

Educational Studies

First Advisor

Molly Dawes

Abstract

How teachers respond to children’s emotions in the classroom plays a central role in shaping children’s emotional development, a process known as emotion socialization. Although research has linked teachers’ emotion socialization responses and practices to important child outcomes, less is known about the factors that underlie teachers’ responses to children’s emotions. Given the importance of the early developmental years for building foundational skills important for long-term success, the focus of this study was on those working with early childhood and elementary aged children. Accordingly, this mixed methods study examined preservice teachers’ (1) developmental knowledge and (2) self-efficacy for supporting children’s emotional development at the end of their teacher preparation program (Time 1) and teachers’ responses to children’s emotions during their first year of teaching (Time 2), specifically emotion-coaching and emotion-dismissing responses.

Participants were recruited from teacher preparation programs across the United States and followed into their first year of teaching (N = 140). Quantitative analyses examined associations between preservice teachers’ developmental knowledge and self-efficacy for emotion support, and how these two variables related to teachers’ emotion-coaching and emotion-dismissing responses. Qualitative data provided additional insight into preservice teachers’ intended strategies to support emotion regulation in the classroom at Time 1 and teachers’ responses to emotionally challenging situations in the classroom at Time 2. Covariates included internship experience, coursework in child development, as well as teachers’ own emotion regulation, and feelings of emotional exhaustion.

In terms of results, higher self-efficacy for emotion support was related to greater endorsement of emotion-coaching, whereas higher developmental knowledge was related to lower endorsement of emotion-dismissing. Qualitative findings revealed variability in how teachers conceptualized emotion regulation and highlighted tensions between providing emotional support and managing behavior and various classroom constraints. Overall, developmental knowledge and self-efficacy for emotion support emerged as distinct yet complementary contributors to teachers’ emotion socialization practices during the transition from preparation to practice. Findings from this study have important implications for educator preparation programs. In particular, the value of supporting the development of preservice teachers’ developmental knowledge and self-efficacy for emotion support may be an important avenue for equipping educators in supporting children’s emotions in the classroom.

Rights

© 2026, Shea Elizabeth Ferguson

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