Publication year
2014
Citation Title
Evidence for general and domain-specific elements of teacher-child interactions: Associations with preschool children’s development.
Journal Name
Child Development
Journal Volume
85
Issue Number
3
Page Numbers
1257-1274
DOI
10.1111/cdev.12184
Summary
Teachers' strategies and interactions with students may influence child development outcomes. The effects of both general (e.g., responsive teaching) and specific (e.g., positive management, routines, cognitive facilitation) child-teacher interaction factors on child development were examined in 325 early childhood Head Start classrooms. Responsive teaching was associated with positive child development across social and cognitive domains, while positive management and routines were associated with better child inhibitory control, and cognitive facilitation was associated with gains in early language and literacy skills.
Key Findings
Children in classrooms with teachers providing more responsive interactions (i.e., demonstrating awareness of children’s emotional, behavioral, and cognitive cues and making active efforts to respond in supportive ways) demonstrated greater gains in cognitive, self-regulatory, and relational functioning.
Teachers’ positive management of behavior and routines and cognitive stimulation was associated with better child inhibitory control.
Teachers’ cognitive facilitation was associated with greater child gains in early language and literacy skills.
Implications for Military Professionals
Collaborate with local preschool programs to ensure that accessible, low-cost education and care are available for military children
Educate community preschool staff about unique circumstances or difficulties that military children may face and the behavioral and emotional impacts possible
Implications for Program Leaders
Disseminate information to military families regarding local preschool programs with high-quality teachers and instruction
Provide military parents with a guide that includes important qualities of preschool programs and teachers to aid parents in choosing high-quality programs for their children
Implications for Policy Makers
Recommend professional development for teachers about instructional interactions and responsive teaching strategies
Support military preschool programming with low student to teacher ratios, enabling teachers to spend more individual time with children
Methods
Teachers in 401 classrooms were participants in a larger study of Head Start examining professional development and teaching style; after distribution of program packets to students' parents, 81% of all classrooms had at least one child participate in the study.
Child-teacher relationship data were assessed at the beginning of the school year (teacher-report), child cognitive and self-regulation data were assessed in both the fall and spring (child assessment), and child-teacher interactions were assessed from January to mid-March (researcher observation).
The impact of responsive teaching and positive behavior and routine management on children’s cognitive and social development were examined across a year of preschool.
Participants
The sample included 325 preschool teachers (96% female) with an average age of 42.40 years (SD = 10.79) and 1,407 preschool children (51% female) with an average age of 4.17 years (SD = 0.47).
Teachers were 47% Black, 33% White, 13% Latino, 4% Asian American, and 4% another race/ethnicity; Students were 47% Black, 34% Latino, 11% White, 2% Asian American, and 5% another race/ethnicity.
Teachers had an average of 14.50 years of experience (SD = 9.37) and 15.90 years of education (SD = 1.62), with 20% holding advanced degrees.
Limitations
Other unmeasured variables (e.g., class size, school resources, class content areas) may have contributed to the findings.
There is very little information offered regarding the teacher professional development intervention in the larger study, and it is unclear how this may have influenced results.
Observation ratings of teacher-child interactions had relatively low inter-rater reliability.
Avenues for Future Research
Examine how these variables may differ across different school subjects (e.g., math, history, reading)
Compare outcomes of children in Head Start programs and other types of preschools across the variables examined (e.g., teacher responsivity, child-teacher interactions)
Explore methods of parent education or information (e.g., newsletters, online modules, parent learning groups) that may help parents to use similar responsivity and management of behavior and routines at home to maintain consistency
Focus
Civilian
Target Population
Population Focus
Abstract
This study evaluates a model for considering domain-general and domain-specific associations between teacher–child interactions and children's development, using a bifactor analytic strategy. Among a sample of 325 early childhood classrooms there was evidence for both general elements of teacher–child interaction (responsive teaching) and domain-specific elements related to positive management and routines and cognitive facilitation. Among a diverse population of 4-year-old children (n = 1,407) responsive teaching was modestly associated with development across social and cognitive domains, whereas positive management and routines was modestly associated with increases in inhibitory control and cognitive facilitation was associated with gains in early language and literacy skills. The conceptual and methodological contributions and challenges of this approach are discussed.
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