Poster #67 - Effects of the Thrive by Three: a Professional Development Model to Enhance ECEC Quality.

• In Event: Poster Session 15

Abstract

Background:
Childcare quality is of great importance for young children, both in the short and long run (Vandell et al., 2010; Sylva et al., 2011). Despite the importance of high-quality care, the quality of caregiver–toddler interactions in ECEC around the world is typically found to be in the medium range (Vermeer et al., 2016). Recent evidence from Norway, the context for the present study – where universal access to highly subsidized childcare is a law-given right from the age of 1 year, and where important structural quality parameters are regulated by the state – confirms these findings (Bjørnestad & Os, 2018). Quality can be enhanced through professional development programs (e.g. Werner et al., 2015; Markussen-Brown et al., 2017; Egert et al., 2018; Egert et al., 2020). However, studies with sufficiently rigorous designs to study the effects of such programs on process quality and child outcomes are lacking for toddlers (ages 1 to 3 years) (see Eurofond, 2015; Egert et al., 2018).
Objectives:
To test the effectiveness of the Thrive by Three intervention, a 10-month, multicomponent, in-service professional development model to promote the quality of caregiver–toddler interactions (i.e., process quality), child mental health and language development, utilizing a clustered randomized controlled design.
Methods:
A sample of 78 childcare centers from 7 municipalities/city parts in Norway was randomized into intervention or waitlist-control conditions. The sample at baseline consisted of 187 toddler classrooms, 794 professional caregivers and teachers, 1561 toddlers and their parents. Interactional quality was measured with the Classroom Assessment Scoring System (CLASS) (La Paro et al., 2012) pre-, mid-, and post intervention. Child mental health and language skills were assessed pre- and post intervention. Mental health by C-TRF (Achenbach & Rescorla, 2000) and BITSEA (Briggs-Gowan and Carter, 2002), and language development by Language Development Survey (LDS) (Rescorla, 1989). We used linear mixed models analyses to investigate the intervention effects on interactional quality, mental health and language development. For mental health, we used a mixed methods design where results from 11 qualitative interviews were included in addition to survey data. Statistical analyses were conducted in IBM SPSS Statistics 23-27.
Results:
The quality of the teacher–toddler interactions in the intervention group increased significantly more in both CLASS domains; Emotional and Behavioral Support and Engaged Support for Learning compared to the control group. Whereas quality was enhanced and sustained in the intervention classrooms through the year, quality decreased in the control classrooms. In terms of child outcomes, results were mixed. For child mental health the quantitative analyses did not reveal any intervention effects. The qualitative data on the other hand, did reveal some positive changes in the intervention group regarding individual children’s mental health. Moreover, preliminary results showed no significant main effect of the intervention on children's language development. However, we found a clear intervention effect on girl’s language development, but not for boys.
Conclusion:
The Thrive by Three intervention shows promise in terms of increasing teacher-toddler interactional quality. In terms of effects on child mental health and development, results are more mixed.

Authors

• Elisabet Solheim Buøen, Regional Center for Child and Adolescent Mental Health, Eastern and Southern Norway
  Presenting Author

• Ratib Lekhal, University of Oslo

• May Britt Drugli, Regional Centre for Child and Youth Mental Health and Child Welfare Faculty of Medicine and Health