Dissertation Assignment

The title of the dissertation for this assignment is titled: Teacher Child Interaction Training Creates a Positive Classroom Environment.

 

Early Childhood Research Problem

The early childhood problem researched in this dissertation was the issue of positive learning environment. If the quality of the relationships between child and teacher are improved upon early, a child may improve his socio-emotional competence and decrease behavior problems. The teachers who participated in the Teacher Child Interaction Training (TCIT) were taught to use principals of learning and behavior management in the classroom to enhance positive interactions and attachment, and to prevent and reduce problem behaviors in young children.

            The research was conducted in a public elementary school in rural Virginia during January to May of 2011. Two preschool classrooms were selected to participate: one class being a general preschool classroom, and the other a HeadStart classroom. The five teachers and instructional assistants who also participated were all Caucasian females. Each class had 18-20 students, ranging in age from three to five. Seventy-five percent of the school was on free or reduced lunch and the classes had about the same ratio of boys to girls.

            A letter was sent home with students describing the purpose and procedures of the study. The letter offered an opportunity for parents to decline the participation of their child in the study. To protect identities, both teachers and students were assigned random numbers for identification and the data sheets only named the random descriptor. The children who presented a particular challenge in the classroom were targeted by the teachers; meaning these students were more frequently observed throughout the duration of the study. Teacher and child behaviors were recorded by a team of eight undergraduate and graduate psychology students. This took place over a semester and the observers did not interact with the teachers or students, they only recorded their observations while interfering as little as possible.

            Each day, the observer would enter the data collected (3-4 raters, 22-26 observations per day). The databases each had separate sections for child and teacher and had behaviors listed across the top. The percentage of intervals in which a behavior was observed was tallied for each day and displayed graphically. During and after this time, teachers were placed in interventions where they learned how to interact differently and more effectively with students. The interventions they were involved with depended on the observations of the people whom were rating.

            Overall, the results show that TCIT is an effective intervention to promote positive behavior support in the classroom. Follow-up is vital to ensure the success of any training program (Sigurdsson, 2013), and TCIT continues to provide consultations and feedback following their workshops (Devers, 2015).

 Resources

           The following resources were helpful in the preparation of this dissertation:

 Collett, B.R. (2002). Addressing disruptive behaviors in the preschool classroom: An

           adaptation of Parent-Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT) for Head Start teachers.
           (Doctoral dissertation). Available from ProQuest Dissertations and Theses database.
          ( UMI No. 3040720)

Denham, S., & Burton, R. (1996). A social-emotional intervention for at-risk four-year
           olds. Journal of School Psychology, 34,225-246.

 Filcheck, H.A., McNeil, C.B., Greco, L.A., & Bernard, R.S. (2004). Using a whole-class

           token economy and coaching of teacher skills in a preschool classroom to manage
           disruptive behavior. Psychology in the Schools, 41, 351–361.

           These resources were relevant to the study because each of them gave pertinent information regarding ways in which to alleviate behavior problems within the classroom and ways to implement effective interventions necessary.

 

Further Study

 This dissertation will be beneficial in my work toward my learning about fostering positive learning environments because of its findings in ways for teachers to promote positive learning environments within their classrooms. The interventions utilized during this research study will be helpful in learning ways in which to foster positive learning environments within my own classroom.

 

 

Reference

 

Devers, K. (2015). Teacher child interaction training (TCIT) creates a positive classroom

          environment: Improving attachment and management of child behavior problems. Dissertation           Abstracts International, 76.