Children use teachers as a secure base and haven, which fosters their school adjustment and learning. If students show externalizing behaviour, they are more likely to get into a conflictual relationship with the teacher.  The Transactional Model in classroom settings supports the existence of transactions between teachers and students, particulary during coercive interaction sequences (Sutherland & Oswald, 2005; Sameroff & MacKenzie, 2003). Research has shown that students’ externalizing behaviour may increase and the relationship with the teacher becomes more conflictual (Sutherland & Oswald, 2005; Ladd & Burgess, 2001; O’Connor & McCartney, 2007). This may lead to a negative vicious circle between teacher and child. This process could have negative outcomes in future for the teacher and child. Positive and close teacher-child relationships appear to buffer behaviorally and emotionally at-risk children against more behaviour- and emotional problems (Meehan, Hughes, & Cavell, 2003) and promotes teachers’ wellbeing (Mashburn, Hamre, Downer, & Pianta, 2006; Spilt, Koomen, & Thijs, 2011).

An important recent finding of attachment research is that the caregiver’s capacity for reflection and understanding is vitally important for secure attachment (Slade, Grienenberger, Bernbach, Levy, & Locker, 2005). Reflective functioning is the capacity to think about one’s own and the other’s behaviour in terms of underlying mental states such as feelings and intentions (Fonagy, Steele, Steele, Moran, & Higgitt, 1991). Research has shown that a lack of teachers’ behavioural sensitivity is related to the development of behavioural and emotional problems in students (Meehan et al., 2003). The professional development of teachers should learn teachers how to  transform knowledge into practice for the benefit of their students’ growth (Allen, 2011; Avalos, 2011). Based on the attachment theory and the theory of self-determination Pianta and Hamre (2009) developed a conceptual framework that helps teachers to enlarge behaviour sensitivity. The Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS; Pianta, Hamre & Mintz, 2012) describes global classroom quality using three domains. The domain Emotional Support is the ability of the teacher to support students’ emotional functioning.
The Key2Teach study  is a Randomized Controlled Trial with repeated measures and provides insight in teacher-student relationships in upper-elementary school. The main aim of this study is to investigate whether Multi-Method Coaching (MMC) of teachers has a positive effect on teacher-student interactions, teacher and student outcomes. MMC is an two-phase  intervention programme that targets changes in teachers’ perceptions of the teacher-child relationship and improved interaction skills to break through negative patterns. Reflective functioning is an underlying  key component. The theory of this intervention is based on the Transactional Model (Sutherland & Oswald, 2005; Sameroff & MacKenzie, 2003), the Attachment perspective (Verschueren & Koomen, 2012) and research on teacher- student relationship (Pianta & Hamre, 2009). The first phase  is developed to help teachers reflect on their relationship with a student with externalizing behaviour. In this phase the coach and teacher use elements including a teacher student relationship interview, functional behaviour analysis and video-interaction analysis. Studying the video images leads to a working hypothesis which is the starting point of the second phase: Synchronous Video Coaching. During Synchronous Video Coaching the teacher and coach use elements including  video-interaction analysis, functional behaviour analysis and Synchronous Video Coaching. During Synchronous Video Coaching the teacher and coach are in a direct contact using bug-in-ear technology with keywords. Keywords are short, action-oriented and based on the teachers’ working hypothesis (Fukkink et al. 2011).

In this presentation we briefly explain the theoretical framework underpinning the research and the method of Multi Method Coaching. The focus will be on the methodology and the presentation of effects of MMC on teacher and student outcomes using first-cohort data. 

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