The aim of this research was to examine the mediating role of teacher–pupil interaction in the relationship of temperament to self-esteem and school success among year-7 and year-8 elementary-school pupils in Croatia and Bosnia & Herzegovina (B&H). The assumptions on the contribution of the dimensions of temperament (self-control and negative affectivity) and teacher–pupil interaction (influence and proximity) in explaining pupils' self-esteem and school success were partially confirmed. Similar relationships among the measured variables were confirmed in both samples of pupils. Self-control, negative affectivity, and teacher proximity directly predicted self-esteem, while self- -control indirectly predicted self-esteem through teacher proximity. Self-control and teacher proximity contributed directly to school success, and the indirect contribution of self- -control to school success through teacher proximity was also significant. The results of this research indicate the importance of the direct contribution of children's temperaments to their self-esteem and school success, and of its indirect contribution through the quality of the interaction with their teacher.
The Mediating Role of Teacher–Pupil Interaction in the Relationship of Pupil Temperament to Self-Esteem and School Success
