Bridget E. Hatfield

Evidence for General and Domain-Specific Elements of Teacher–Child Interactions: Associations With Preschool Children's Development

This study evaluates a model for considering domain-general and domain-specific associations between teacher-child interactions and childrens 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.

Visuomotor Integration and Inhibitory Control Compensate for Each Other in School Readiness.

Visuomotor integration (VMI), or the ability to copy designs, and 2 measures of executive function were examined in a predominantly low-income, typically developing sample of children (n = 467, mean age 4.2 years) from 5 U.S. states. In regression models controlling for age and demographic variables, we tested the interaction between visuomotor integration (design copying) and inhibitory control (pencil-tap) or verbal working memory (digit span) on 4 directly assessed academic skills and teacher-reported approaches to learning. Compared with children with both poor visuomotor integration and low inhibitory control, those on the higher end of the continuum in at least 1 of these 2 skills performed better across several dependent variables. This compensatory pattern was evident for longitudinal improvement in print knowledge on the Test of Preschool Early Literacy (TOPEL), with similar though marginally significant findings for improvement in phonological awareness (TOPEL) and teacher-rated approaches to learning on the Preschool Learning Behaviors Scale (PLBS). Of note, the same compensatory pattern emerged for concurrently measured receptive vocabulary on the Peabody Picture Vocabulary Test (PPVT), expressive vocabulary on the Woodcock-Johnson III (WJ), TOPEL phonological awareness, and teacher-rated approaches to learning. The consistent pattern of results suggests that strong visuomotor integration skills are an important part of school readiness, and merit further study.

The Role of Effortful Control in Mediating the Association Between Maternal Sensitivity and Children's Social and Relational Competence and Problems in First Grade

Research Findings: This study examined the extent to which maternal sensitivity in infancy and toddlerhood is associated with childrens social and relational competence and problems in the early years of schooling as well as the extent to which this association is mediated by childrens effortful control abilities. Data from 1,364 children (705 boys, 659 girls), their mothers, and teachers from the longitudinal National Institute of Child Health and Human Development Study of Early Child Care and Youth Development were used. Maternal sensitivity was assessed by coding semistructured videos of mother–child interactions; effortful control was assessed by maternal report; and childrens social competence, problems, and relationships with teachers and peers were assessed by school observations and teacher report. Structural equation models examined the extent to which there was an association between maternal sensitivity and childrens social and relational competence and problems as well as the extent to which this association was mediated by childrens effortful control skills. Maternal sensitivity had a direct association with childrens social and relational competence and problems in 1st grade. Childrens inhibitory control partially mediated the association between maternal sensitivity and the quality of childrens skills. Practice or Policy: The results are discussed in terms of the importance of interventions geared toward improving maternal sensitivity and childrens effortful control skills to help children develop better social and relational skills to foster close and supportive relationships with teachers and peers.

Cortisol Patterns for Young Children Displaying Disruptive Behavior: Links to a Teacher-Child, Relationship-Focused Intervention

Supportive and close relationships that young children have with teachers have lasting effects on children’s behavior and academic success, and this is particularly true for children with challenging behaviors. These relationships are also important for children’s developing stress response system, and children in child care may be more likely to display atypical cortisol patterns at child care. However, warm, supportive relationships with teachers may buffer these negative effects of child care. While many relationship-focused early childhood interventions demonstrate changes in child behavior, associations with children’s stress response system are unknown. This study assessed children’s activity in the hypothalamic-pituitary-adrenal axis via salivary cortisol as a function of their participation in a dyadic intervention intended to improve a teacher’s interaction quality with a particular child. Seventy teachers and 113 preschool children participated who were part of a larger study of teachers and children were randomly assigned at the classroom level across three intervention conditions: Banking Time, Time-Control Comparison (Child Time), and Business-as-Usual. At the end of the school year, children in the Banking Time condition displayed a significantly greater decline in cortisol across the morning during preschool compared to children in Business-as-Usual condition. These pilot results are among the first to provide preliminary evidence that school-based interventions that promote sensitive and responsive interactions may improve young children’s activity in the stress response system within the child care/early education context.

Using a Standardized Task to Assess the Quality of Teacher–Child Dyadic Interactions in Preschool

ABSTRACT Research Findings: This study explored the quality of teacher-child interactions within the context of a newly developed standardized task, Teacher-Child Structured Play Task (TC-SPT). A sample of 146 teachers and 345 children participated. Children who displayed the highest disruptive behaviors within each classroom were selected to participate. Teacher-child dyads (n=345) participated in a play session that included free play and clean-up tasks. We adapted two coding schemes to assess the quality of both teachers’ and children’s interactive behaviors during these two tasks. The coding schemes exhibited internal and inter-rater reliability. Significant associations with classroom-level teacher-child interactions and children’s observed classroom engagement provide support for the measure’s validity. Differences in teacher and child-interactive behaviors across the two tasks (free play versus clean-up) suggest that task features may affect the quality of teacher-child interactive behaviors. Practice and Policy: Examining the interactions of different teacher-child dyads within the same standardized context will allow researchers to better understand the child and teacher factors that contribute to the quality of those interactions. Thus, use of this task in future field-based research may help to assess the impact of early interventions and professional development efforts that target improvement in the quality of teacher-child interactions.

Limited access to special education services for school-aged children with developmental delay ☆

BACKGROUND Current policy in Oregon limits eligibility of children diagnosed with developmental delay for school-based services. Due to eligibility definitions, children with developmental delay may face additional barriers transitioning from early intervention/early childhood special education into school-based special education services. AIMS Examine the relationship between enrollment in school-based special education programs given a change in primary disability diagnosis. METHODS Logistic regression models were fit for children who enrolled in early intervention/early childhood special education services with a primary disability diagnosis of developmental delay and changed primary disability diagnosis before third grade (n=5076). RESULTS Odds of enrollment in future special education were greater in children with a change in primary disability diagnosis after the age of five in comparison to children that had a change in primary disability diagnosis before the age of five, while adjusting for demographic characteristics (adjusted odds ratio: 2.37, 95% CI 1.92, 2.92). CONCLUSION Results suggest that children who are diagnosed with a developmental delay and exit early childhood special education due to maximum age of eligibility are more likely to enroll in special education compared to children without a gap in service access. IMPLICATIONS Gaps in service access during early development are associated with the need for supportive services later on in life.

Child Behaviors of Young Children With Autism Spectrum Disorder Across Play Settings

The hallmark characteristics of a diagnosis of autism spectrum disorder (ASD) are deficits in social communicative skills and the use of repetitive and/or stereotyped behaviors. In addition, children with ASD experience known motor-skill delays. The purpose of this study was to examine salient child behaviors of young children with and without ASD in 2 distinctly different play settings: a traditional social-play-based setting and a motor-behavior-based play setting. Child behavior (engagement toward parent, negativity, and attention) and dyad characteristics (connectedness) were examined in 2 distinctly different play settings. Results indicated that children with ASD performed more like their peers without ASD in a social-play-based setting and less like their peers in a motor-behavior-based play setting. Aspects of our results shed light on the critical need to develop creative methods of early intervention that combine efforts in all aspects of child development, including motor-skill development.

Making a College Course Matter at Scale: The Importance of Implementation Support

This study describes the development and implementation of a college course intended to promote effective teacher–child interactions within the early childhood education setting. One hundred forty-nine early childhood teachers participating in a randomized control trial with the National Center for Research in Early Childhood Education (NCRECE) were selected to receive the course. The goal of the NCRECE course was to increase teachers’ ability to provide classroom interactions that promote improved school readiness skills in children. Results from this study suggest that a course can be standardized and successfully delivered to 10 sites across the United States without compromising the quality and impact of the course. Two components of the course were vital to its success. First, the course curriculum, assignments, and lectures were aligned with research in effective teacher-child interactions. Second, instructors’ implementation was intentionally supported throughout the course to maintain quality of d...