Effects of a Two-Component Intervention on Teachers' Emotional Support and Structure Towards Externalizing Preschoolers

Introduction: As teacher-child interactions in preschool have been shown to predict behavioral development, promoting preschool teachers’ interaction quality may be an important strategy in preventing externalizing behavior development. This study investigated effects of a two-component intervention, Playing-2-gether, aimed at improving teachers’ interactions with preschoolers showing externalizing behavior. The first component, based on attachment theory, focuses on building a high quality teacher-child relationship. The second component, grounded in learning theory, targets teachers’ behavioral management. Whereas positive effects on teacher-perceived child behavior and relationship quality have been reported (Vancraeyveldt et al., in press), effects on teachers’ actual interactive behaviors have not been studied. The present study investigated (1) effects of Playing-2-gether on teachers’ emotional support and structure towards externalizing preschoolers and (2) whether Playing-2-gether effects on emotional support and structure differ according to teacher-perceived child behavior at pre-test and after the first intervention component.

Methods: Participants were preschool boys with the highest levels of externalizing behavior in class and their teachers. Teacher-child dyads (N=175) in 46 schools were randomly assigned to a control (education as usual) or intervention condition. In the intervention condition, one-on-one teacher-child sessions were organized during 12 weeks (six weeks for each component). Teachers’ interactive behaviors in a structured play setting were video-taped at pretest (T1) and posttest (T3) and blind-coded, using rating scales derived from Erickson et al. (1985). Teacher perceptions of child (externalizing, internalizing, prosocial) behavior were assessed with the Strengths and Difficulties Questionnaire (Goodman, 1997) at pre-test (T1) and after the first component (T2). Multilevel modeling was used, with data waves (level 1) nested in children (level 2).

Results: Controlling for pre-test levels, we found no significant main intervention effects on teachers’ emotional support and structure. However, preliminary analyses revealed that the effect on teacher structure was moderated by child externalizing behavior at T1 (ß=.47, p<.05) and T2 (ß=.51, p<.05): Intervention teachers reporting high child externalizing behavior at pretest and after the first component increased their provision of structure, whereas those reporting low externalizing behavior reduced structure. For control teachers, the opposite was found, with changes in structure to high versus low externalizing children being less pronounced. For support no interaction effects with T1 and T2 child behavior levels were found.

Conclusions: Overall, this two-component intervention did not affect teachers’ emotional support and structure. However, preliminary findings suggest that the intervention helped teachers to adapt their levels of structure to their perceptions of the child’s needs.