Supporting Early Childhood Educators to use Effective Practices to Promote Social-Emotional Skills: Innovative Coaching Models

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Social-emotional skills are critical for young children, yet preschool and kindergarten teachers report feeling unprepared to support these skills. Coaching is one effective means of preparing teachers, but high-quality coaching is difficult to scale in district- and community-based early care settings. This symposium presents three papers describing innovative programs to coach early care teachers to fidelity of a social-emotional intervention, with the goal of sustainably building district and community-based center capacity.

The first paper presents a randomized controlled trial (RCT) taking place in one urban district and one rural district. All teachers receive coaching supports within a “train-the-trainer” model and receive training and coaching across two years. Findings describe the proportion of high-quality SEL practices in both groups over time and relative to each other.

The second paper presents an RCT taking place in community-based preschool programs. Teachers are coached within a group-based coaching model, which provides coaching sessions more efficiently. Teachers were randomized to receive no coaching or a group plus individual coaching model. Findings describe the development of the model, effects on teacher practice, and teachers’ experiences with coaching.

The third paper implements a Latent Profile Analysis (LPA) approach to matching early childhood educators in community- and district-based preschools with tiered coaching supports. Latent profiles based on psychological characteristics, job commitment, professional development preferences, and observed teaching practices were used to select the appropriate tier of supports that teachers needed. Findings describe the effect of tiered coaching on teachers’ fidelity to the intervention.

Sub Unit

• Prevention and Interventions

Chair

• Erika Elizabeth Gaylor, SRI International - Silicon Valley

Discussant

• Mary Louise Hemmeter, Vanderbilt University

Individual Presentations

• Scaling Up Implementation of a Social Emotional Curriculum in Preschool Classrooms: Preliminary Findings about Coaching to Fidelity Among School-Based Preschool Teachers - Presenting Author: Erika Elizabeth Gaylor, SRI International - Silicon Valley; Non-Presenting Author: Elisa Garcia, SRI International - Silicon Valley; Non-Presenting Author: Dominique Tunzi, SRI International; Non-Presenting Author: Kiersten Kinder, Vanderbilt University

• Evaluating the Effects of a Group Coaching Approach in Partnership with Local Early Childhood Programs - Presenting Author: Mary Louise Hemmeter, Vanderbilt University; Non-Presenting Author: Sarah Basler, Vanderbilt University; Non-Presenting Author: Marisa Edmonds, Vanderbilt University; Non-Presenting Author: Lise Fox, University of South Florida; Non-Presenting Author: Meghan von der Embse, University of South Florida; Non-Presenting Author: Myrna Veguilla, University of South Florida; Non-Presenting Author: Ragan McLeod, University of Alabama

• Development of a Tiered Coaching Model to Support the Professional Development of Inclusive Early Childhood Educators - Presenting Author: Angel Fettig, University of Washington; Non-Presenting Author: Kathleen Artman Meeker, University Of Washington; Non-Presenting Author: Jennifer Cunningham, Vanderbilt University