UC Riverside

Student-teacher relationship (STR) quality is an important predictor for later student outcomes and success. Students with autism spectrum disorder (ASD) in the early grades generally have less warm and more conflictual relationships with their teachers, and autistic students of color whose racial/ethnic background differs from their teachers (i.e., race incongruence) may be at compounded risk for poor STR quality. The present study (N=127) explored relationships among child problem behaviors, social skills and STRs, and whether STR quality differed between race congruent and race incongruent student-teacher dyads. Results suggest that teachers in race congruent and incongruent dyads do not rate their student’s differently on STR quality, problem behaviors, or level of social skills. Rather, the relationship among these factors suggests that problem behaviors negatively predicted STR quality for both groups, but social skills positively predicted STR quality only for students in a race-congruent dyad. Discussion focuses on implications for future research on the intersectionality of race and disability and the importance of establishing STRs in the early school years.