4 - (IOP 13) Bridging Hospitals to Head Start Programs: A Pilot Study of Teacher-child Interaction Training in Head Start

Objective: Socio-emotional concerns affect up to 20% of young children and increase the risk for a host of mental health conditions. Effective interventions exist in early childhood but fail to reach up to 65% of 3- to 5-year-olds, particularly for families experiencing poverty. Young children often show challenging behaviors in early childhood education (ECE) settings, which leads to educators feeling ineffective and stressed. Guided by the RE-AIM dissemination and implementation science framework, this pilot, open trial explored implementation (i.e., acceptability, appropriateness, feasibility) and service outcomes (i.e., educators stress and confidence in behavior management) among ECE educators’ receiving a teacher-child interaction training (TCIT) program in Head Start programs.

Methods: Program administrators identified classrooms with higher behavioral concerns. Twelve ECE educators are currently receiving the TCIT program. Educators will provide ratings on implementation outcomes via surveys (AIM/FIM/IAM) and qualitative interviews. Feasibility will also be gathered through coaching logs documenting TCIT sessions. Service outcomes will be teacher-reported efficacy in managing challenging behaviors, stress and confidence in managing challenging behaviors in the classroom, and their expectations about change in stress and confidence after receiving TCIT. Expected ratings in stress and confidence were collected using a visual analog scale capturing from 0 (Never) to 100 (Always).

Results: Educators’ self-reported stress in managing challenging behaviors was, on average, 52.25 (SD=15.84) before receiving TCIT. A paired sample t-test revealed educators expected stress to significantly decrease (M=40.67; SD=16.26) after receiving TCIT (p = .02; Cohen d=.72). Educators’ self-reported confidence in managing challenging behaviors was, on average, 61.00 (SD= 15.13) before receiving TCIT. Educators also tended to expect an increase in confidence in managing challenging behaviors (M = 68.75; SD=13.71) after receiving TCIT at trend level (p = .06; Cohen d=-.54).

Conclusions: While effective classroom-level programs to equip educators with the skills and confidence to manage challenging behaviors in the classroom exist, their effectiveness as well as the contextual determinants driving successful implementation in real-world ECE settings serving low-income children and families (i.e., Head Start) are unclear. Preliminary findings suggest that educators expect TCIT will lower their stress and raise their confidence managing challenging behaviors.