Do teacher-child interactions matter the same for every child?

• In Event: Unpacking the nuances of teacher-child interactions: Direct and indirect effects on child outcomes

Abstract

There are mixed results regarding the relationship between process quality, assessed by CLASS, and child development (Burchinal, 2018). One possible explanation is that, depending on children’s characteristics, the quality of teacher-child interactions will be more or less important for their development. In this study, we analyzed whether the association between teacher-child interactions and child development (self-regulation, mathematical skills and vocabulary) varies as a function of baseline values of child outcomes, the level of stress experienced by children in pre-k, and the sex of children.

We addressed these questions using a sample of 84 middle-income children enrolled in 27 pre-k classrooms in Bogotá, Colombia. Children’s outcomes were assessed at three time points over the course of six months. Cool self-regulation was measured by combining the total score on the Pencil Tap Task, Head to Toes Task and the Day–Night Stroop. Hot self-regulation was assessed by the Gift Task (Murray & Kochanska, 2002). Impulse control was measured by the Adapted Leiter-R assessor report (Smith-Donald, Raver, Hayes, & Richardson, 2007). Children’s vocabulary and mathematical skills were assessed using the picture-vocabulary subscale of the Woodcock-Johnson and the 15-item Mathematics Assesment (Klibanoff et al., 2006), respectively. Teacher-child interactions were measured with the CLASS scales: Classroom organization, emotional support and instructional support. It was measured at baseline. Stress levels were measured as the difference between afternoon and morning cortisol concentration in saliva at baseline. Data were analyzed through multilevel models for change. Time was represented by the child age centered at the first time point. Changes in time of children's outcomes were modeled as a function of emotional support, classroom organization and instructional support. Additionally, we analyzed the interaction of the above variables and sex, cortisol levels and baseline outcome values, defined as a binary indicator of whether the child was in the lowest quantile or not.

Preliminary analyses show that: (a) Cool self-regulation, impulse control, mathematical skills and vocabulary increased, while hot self-regulation decreased over time, (b) Classroom organization was associated with initial average score of impulse control, (c) Significant interactions between CLASS scores and child characteristics were found. Specifically, emotional support was negatively associated with impulse control for children in the lower quartile of impulse control in time 1. In addition, the association between emotional support and vocabulary’s slope was conditional to child sex (the association was positive for boys and negative for girls), but none of the simple slopes were significantly different from zero. Classroom organization had different associations with math slope for boys and girls (association was negative for boys and positive for girls), but none of the simple slopes were significantly different from zero. Instructional support predicted differences in math scores at baseline depending on the stress responses. Namely, when cortisol levels increased during the day, there was a negative association between instructional support and mathematical skills intercept. Results show few direct associations between teacher-child interactions, assessed by CLASS, and children’s development. However, they provide evidence about several conditional effects depending on children’s characteristics.

Authors

• Tatiana Plata, Universidad de los Andes (Uniandes)
  Presenting Author

• Carolina Maldonado-Carreño, Universidad de los Andes (Uniandes)
  Non-Presenting Author