Parent-Teacher Evaluations of Preschool Behavioral and Emotional Development

Parent-teacher evaluations constitute a cornerstone of early childhood assessment, integrating observations from home and educational settings to form a holistic picture of a child’s behavioural and emotional functioning. Such multi-informant approaches address the inherent variability of young children’s conduct, recognising that context—be it the classroom’s structured routines or the home’s emotional climate—shapes the expression of externalising behaviours (for example, hyperactivity or aggression) and internalising behaviours (such as withdrawal or anxiety). Cross-informant agreement tends to be moderate, with higher concordance for overt disruptive behaviours than for subtle emotional difficulties. Discrepancies can arise from differences in adult expectations, observational contexts, cultural norms and informant stress or biases. Methodologically, standardised instruments and statistical models (for instance, intraclass correlations and mixed-methods designs) facilitate reliable comparisons, while longitudinal studies elucidate the developmental trajectories of early socio-emotional risks. Globally, these evaluations inform tailored interventions—ranging from classroom management strategies to family support programmes—and underpin policy initiatives aimed at fostering emotional competence during the formative preschool years.

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Parent-Teacher Evaluations of Preschool Behavioral and Emotional Development publication trend

The graph below shows the total number of articles in parent-teacher evaluations of preschool behavioral and emotional development across all publications each year (not limited to Nature Index journals).

Technical terms

Multi-informant assessment: An approach that combines reports from different observers (such as parents and teachers) to capture a child’s behaviour across contexts.

Externalising behaviours: Outwardly directed actions including aggression, hyperactivity and conduct problems.

Internalising behaviours: Inwardly directed emotional states such as anxiety, depression and social withdrawal.

Informant discrepancy: The degree of divergence between ratings provided by different observers of the same child.

Social-emotional competence: A child’s capacity to recognise, regulate and express emotions appropriately, and to form positive relationships.

References

1. Social Emotional Competence, Learning Outcomes, Emotional and Behavioral Difficulties of Preschool Children: Parent and Teacher Evaluations. Frontiers in Psychology (2022).
2. Relationship between parenting stress and informant discrepancies on symptoms of ADHD/ODD and internalizing behaviors in preschool children. PLOS ONE (2017).
3. Preschoolers’ Psychosocial Problems: In the Eyes of the Beholder? Adding Teacher Characteristics as Determinants of Discrepant Parent–Teacher Reports. Child Psychiatry & Human Development (2011).