Shyness and School Adjustment among Chinese Preschool Children: Examining the Moderating Effect of Gender and Teacher-Child Relationship

Research Findings: The current study examined the moderating effects of gender and teacher-child relationship on the association between shyness and school adjustment (school liking and avoidance, cooperative and independent participation). The sample consisted of 524 preschool students from 3 cities of Shandong province in northern China. Mothers reported children's shyness, school liking, and school avoidance, whereas teachers rated children's cooperative and independent participation and reported perceived teacher-child relationships. Overall, findings indicated that shyness was associated with lower teacher-child closeness, lower school liking, and higher school avoidance. Child gender moderated the relationship between shyness and teacher-child dependency. Moreover, teacher-child relationship and child gender moderated the shyness-adjustment relationships. Practice or Policy: These findings point to the potential for improving teacher-child relationships to facilitate shy preschoolers' school adjustment and the importance of taking child gender into consideration in such intervention programs.