A Pilot Study of a Micro-Course to Improve Social and Emotional Teaching Practices in Early Childhood

• In Event: Meeting Early Childhood Educators Where They are: Professional Development Innovations to Enhance Quality Classroom Experiences

Abstract

Early childhood educators need training and support to implement practices that effectively promote social and emotional development (Snyder et al., 2015). Interventions targeting these teaching practices (e.g., coaching and mental health consultation) offer promise in improving practices and children’s behavior (Downer et al., 2018; Hemmeter et al., 2021). However, these interventions are resource intensive (Fettig & Artman-Meeker, 2016; Giordano et al., 2020), making scale up and implementation difficult. To address these challenges, we developed and piloted a brief, online micro-course covering four universal strategies to equitably promote children’s social and emotional development with early childhood educators (Table 1). Although micro-courses offer a novel avenue to improve practices in a cost effective, scalable way, limited research has explored these courses in early childhood. We report on educators’ engagement and satisfaction with the micro-course and reported changes in their knowledge and practices.

Participants included 25 early childhood educators across roles (40% lead, 32% assistant, 20% co-teachers, 8% other roles). Most were women (92%), and the racial/ethnic composition was 44% Black, 36% White, 2% Latinx, and 12% multiracial. Almost half of the sample (48%) had a two-year degree or less. Participants had 11.22 years of teaching experience (SD = 8.43 years). Teachers taught across infant (12%), toddler (16%), preschool (48%), and mixed (28%) ages, in Head Start (40%), center-based settings (36%), state-funded programs (8%), and military child development centers (15%). Teachers completed two surveys: (1) prior to the course and (2) after accessing the course from mid-April to June 2022 (N = 24, 96% retention). Teachers answered questions regarding their knowledge of social and emotional topics and comfort using these practices (Table 2). Teachers reported on their engagement and satisfaction, and qualitative data were collected through open-ended survey items, focus groups, and interviews.

Engagement in the course was very high; 88% of teachers completed most or all of the course. Nearly all teachers (96%) agreed or strongly agreed that they enjoyed the course, would recommend the course to a colleague, found the course useful, and that participating was manageable. Qualitative data similarly supported that educators were satisfied, mentioning liking that the course was self-paced, not rushed, free, and had high-quality relevant content.

Paired t-tests indicated statistically significant increases in teachers’ knowledge of children’s behavior supports from pre to post (Table 2). Teachers also reported increases in their comfort using the four strategies covered. Qualitatively, teachers explained various ways the course changed their practice. One teacher wrote that “[the course] made me more aware...of how I act and how it affects the child”, and another wrote that “this course made me change the way I handle the children and how I talk and smile at them”. Many shared that they learned new strategies and shared information with coworkers.

We found that educators engaged with the course, enjoyed the course, and reported some changes to their practices. Findings can inform future interventions, including refinements to this course and development and implementation of other micro-courses to offer more accessible professional development to the early childhood workforce.

Authors

• Kelsey Ann Clayback, University of Virginia - Charlottesville
  Presenting Author

• Jennifer Locasale-Crouch, Virginia Commonwealth University

• Pilar Alamos, University of Virginia - Charlottesville