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This study contributes to a growing body of literature focused on the role of the teacher's "invisible hand" in managing students social relationships. The authors focus on one specific aspect of attunement, teachers' social network knowledge, which they conceptualize as the completeness and accuracy of the teacher's social network knowledge, which they conceptualize as the completeness and accuracy of the teacher's perceptions of students' peer affiliation patterns. Two premises of this work are that: (a) teachers who possess accurate network knowledge are in a better position to manage peer relationships in ways that support a positive classroom climate and achievement motivation; and (b) network knowledge is a potentially malleable element of teaching quality which can be targeted for professional development. Because past research suggests that hierarchical social structures in classrooms may contribute to a negative climate, the authors were especially interested in understanding whether teachers with better network knowledge might counteract the negative effect of social hierarchies. (Contains 2 tables and 1 figure.)

The long-term goal of this program of research is to clarify how teachers may influence features of peer networks that, in turn, may affect students' perceptions of social support, achievement-related beliefs and academic achievement. As a first step in this process, in this study the authors focus on identifying teaching practices that are associated with features of classroom peer networks. They expected that both general patterns of teacher-student interaction and more active attempts to manage the social network would be associated with the overall richness and hierarchical organization of friendship ties in elementary school classrooms. They expected that general levels of emotional support would be especially relevant in setting a positive emotional context for the development of rich friendship ties. They expected that teachers more explicit efforts to promote friendships and to reduce behavioral disruptions by separating students at risk of behavior problems would foster a setting more conducive to friendship development. They expected that teachers who sought to counteract the predominance of academic skills as a social organizer--structurally built in to most classrooms in the form of instructional reading groups--would serve to counteract strong hierarchies in the friendship network. Appended are: (1) References; and (2) Tables and Figures. (Contains 2 tables.)

This study contributes to the literature clarifying teaching practices in elementary classrooms that promote students' social relatedness. The focus on teaching practices reflects the need to understand malleable elements of the classroom, which can then be targeted for professional development. Specifically, this study examines whether children in classes characterized by high-quality student-teacher interactions, as measured at the global (i.e., whole classroom) level, perceive more supportive relationships with both their teacher and fellow classmates. (Contains 2 tables.)

The objective of this poster is to examine whether differences in the structural features of classroom peer networks (tight-knittedness, hierarchy, salience norms) are associated with differences in how individual students perceive the classroom environment (relational support from teachers and peers) and express achievement-related beliefs (academic striving, school bonding) that suggest a positive orientation to learning. The long-term goal of this research effort is to test long-standing presumptions about the features of peer networks that are associated with positive student social-cognitions, and then to identify teaching practices that may be causally related to any such peer network features. (Contains 2 tables.)