Fostering Supportive Teacher-Child Relationships: Intervention Implementation in a State-Funded Preschool Program

Area of Science:

• Early Childhood Education
• Child Psychology
• Teacher Professional Development

Background:

• Positive teacher-child relationships are crucial for child development.
• Banking Time is a strategy to foster these relationships through dedicated 1-on-1 interactions.
• Understanding implementation factors is key for effective teacher training.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine the implementation of Banking Time by preschool teachers.
• To investigate the influence of professional development support on Banking Time adoption.
• To identify child characteristics associated with Banking Time implementation.

Main Methods:

• Web-based training resources provided to 252 preschool teachers.
• Intervention involved varying levels of professional development support.
• Teacher implementation of Banking Time was observed and analyzed.

Main Results:

• Teachers receiving greater professional development support were more likely to implement Banking Time.
• Teachers preferentially used Banking Time with children demonstrating lower social-emotional skills or more problem behaviors.
• Participation in Banking Time led to increased relational closeness between teachers and children.

Conclusions:

• Professional development support significantly impacts the implementation of supportive classroom practices like Banking Time.
• Banking Time may be a valuable tool for enhancing teacher-child relationships, particularly for at-risk children.
• Findings support the integration of Banking Time into early childhood education programs.