Differences in Observers’ and Teachers’ Fidelity Assessments

As evidence-based programs become disseminated, understanding the degree to which they are implemented with fidelity is crucial. This study tested the validity of fidelity ratings made by observers versus those made by teachers. We hypothesized that teachers’ reports about fidelity would have a positivity bias when compared to observers’ reports. Further, we hypothesized that there would generally be low correspondence between teachers’ and observers’ ratings of fidelity. We examined teachers’ and observers’ ratings as they were related to mediating variables targeted for change by the intervention. Finally, we examined the role that years of teaching experience played in achieving fidelity. Eighteen teachers and four research assistants participated in this project as raters. Teachers made video recordings of their implementation of All Stars and completed fidelity assessment forms. Trained observers independently completed parallel forms for 215 sampled classroom sessions. Both teachers and observers rated adherence, quality of delivery, attendance, and participant engagement. Teachers made more positive fidelity ratings than did observers. With the exception of ratings for attendance, teachers and observers failed to agree on fidelity ratings. Observers’ ratings were significantly related to students’ pretest assessments of targeted program mediators. That observers’ ratings were related to students’ pretest scores, suggests it is easier to teach well when students are predisposed to program success. Teachers’ ratings were infrequently related to mediators, but when they were, the relationship was counterintuitive. Experienced teachers taught with greater fidelity than novice teachers. While possibly inflated and inaccurate, gathering fidelity assessments from teachers may sensitize them to issues of fidelity as a result of requiring form completion. Assessing fidelity through observers’ ratings of video recordings has significant merit. As a longterm investment in improving prevention outcomes, policy makers should consider requiring both teacher and observer fidelity assessments as essential components of evaluation.     

Three-Year Trajectory of Teachers’ Fidelity to a Drug Prevention Curriculum

Little is known about the trajectories over time of classroom teachers’ fidelity to drug prevention curricula. Using the “Concerns-Based Adoption Model” (C-BAM) as a theoretical framework, we hypothesized that teachers’ fidelity would improve with repetition. Participants comprised 23 middle school teachers who videotaped their administration of three entire iterations of the All Stars curriculum. Investigators coded two key curriculum lessons, specifically assessing the proportion of activities of each lesson teachers attempted and whether they omitted, added, or changed prescribed content, or delivered it using new methods. Study findings provided only partial support for the C-BAM model. Considerable variability in teachers’ performance over time was noted, suggesting that their progression over time may be nonlinear and dynamic, and quite possibly a function of their classroom and school contexts. There was also evidence that, by their third iteration of All Stars, teachers tended to regress toward the baseline mean. That is, the implementation quality of those that started out with high levels of fidelity tended to degrade, while those that started out with very low fidelity to the curriculum tended to improve. Study findings suggest the need for ongoing training and technical assistance, as well as “just in time” messages delivered electronically; but it is also possible that some prevention curricula may impose unrealistic expectations or burdens on teachers’ abilities and classroom time.     

The Effects of a Nutrition Media Literacy Intervention on Parents’ and Youths’ Communication about Food

Interventions addressing links between media exposure and obesity risk for school-age youth have not explicitly addressed the role of family communication about media. Youths’ influence attempts on parents to purchase advertised foods can create conflict and negatively affect parental food choices. This study tested whether a family-based media literacy curriculum improves parents’ media management skills and decreases youths’ susceptibility to appealing but unrealistic food marketing. A matched-group pretest/posttest field experiment of parent–youth dyads with control group (N = 100 dyads, youth M = 11 years of age) tested the six-session curriculum. Hypotheses were analyzed using a Bayesian structural equation model. The curriculum increased parents’ active negative mediation to foster youths’ critical thinking about food marketing, b* = 0.35, 95% CCI [0.17, 0.50], increased parent Efficacy for making healthy dietary changes for their families, b* = 0.59, 95% CCI [0.41, 0.75], and fostered family discussion about nutrition labels (total effect = 0.22). Additionally, cumulative influences of Perceived Desirability and Wishful Identification on youths’ requests for marketed foods were reduced (total effect = 0.04). Media literacy education can empower parents and improve youths’ critical thinking to reduce effects of food marketing on families and improve use of media to obtain nutrition information.     

„Teachers’ Mental Health Literacy“

Background

According to conservative estimates approximately three million children experience at least one parent with a mental disorder every year. This is about a quarter of all students in Germany. Burden patterns and attempts at coping also become manifest in children’s school lives, mostly with impairments in their learning performance. For teachers this means occupational stress as well.

Objectives

The subproject TEACHER-MHL of the HLCA Consortium will investigate current knowledge of teachers in different types of schools (1st–6th grade), who are dealing with pupils experiencing a critical life-event such as the mental illness of a parent and thus running a higher risk of health disorders. In addition, a program will be developed for the further training of teachers in different types and levels of schools.

Materials and methods

The following steps are planned: systematic literature review, semistructured interviews with teachers, quantitative survey to gather data about specific competences of teachers, and developing and testing a training program for teachers.

Results

By participating in the developed training module, it is expected that specific competencies and the sustainable empowerment of teachers will be promoted, resulting in a significant improvement of school health promotion and support for teachers.

Conclusions

The focus is on a high-risk group that has not yet been sufficiently taken into consideration in professional discussions about school settings. The subproject will determine the current needs of a professional group in dealing with affected students and transfer the results into practice. This paper gives an overview of this research project.

     

Student Characteristics as Predictors of Teachers’ Implementation of a Kindergarten Readiness Program

Recent years have seen increasing numbers of classroom-based interventions designed to enhance the school readiness of at-risk preschoolers. Even the most comprehensive, well-designed programs can suffer from limited effectiveness due to low-frequency implementation by teachers. The current study presents findings from the Building Bridges (BB) project, an integrated program targeting school readiness in Head Start and low-income child care centers. Previous studies have reported the role of teacher-level and program-level characteristics in predicting teacher implementation of an intervention. The present study examines the role of student characteristics-language and math ability, social skills, and behavioral functioning-in predicting implementation exposure. These associations were examined in the context of program type (Head Start, child care) and intervention condition (consultation, no consultation). 88 classrooms (41 Head Start, 47 child care) participated in the BB intervention. Implementation exposure was predicted by several distinct student characteristics. Teachers whose students exhibited poorer language skills implemented significantly more BB activities, a finding that was consistent across program types and intervention conditions. A marginally significant trend was identified for oppositional behavior when interacted with intervention group in that teachers whose students demonstrated higher rates of oppositional behavior implemented fewer intervention activities when they did not have a consultant. Teachers in child care centers with a BB consultant had higher rates of implementation than did teachers in all other groups. These findings provide important information regarding the student-level characteristics that should be evaluated in order to optimize implementation of an intervention.     

Preschool Teachers’ Child-Centered Beliefs: Direct and Indirect Associations with Work Climate and Job-Related Wellbeing

Background

Early childhood teachers’ child-centered beliefs, defined as teachers’ attitudes about how children learn, have been associated with teachers’ developmentally appropriate practices and positive child outcomes. The predictors of teachers’ child-centered beliefs, however, are less frequently explored.

Objective

This study tested whether teachers’ perceived work climate in child-care programs is associated with their child-centered beliefs, mediated by their job-related well-being.

Methods

The sample consisted of 522 preschool teachers (16 % Head Start, and 25 % nationally accredited programs). Path analysis was conducted to test the direct and indirect associations between teachers’ perceived work climate (i.e., collegiality and influence), job-related well-being (i.e., satisfaction and stress), and child-centered beliefs.

Results

The results of the path analysis showed that teachers’ perceived collegiality and influence had positive associations with job-related satisfaction, which in turn was positively associated with child-centered beliefs. On the other hand, teachers’ influence in the program was negatively associated with job-related stress, which was in turn, positively associated with child-centered beliefs. Test of mediation using bootstrapping technique showed significant mediation effects.

Conclusions

Work climate in child-care programs has important implications for teachers’ child-centered beliefs through job-related well-being. Teachers may need more support from the program directors and policy to create high levels of collegiality and influence, which will eventually be related with more developmentally appropriate philosophy.

     

Factors Influencing Implementation of a Physical Activity Intervention in Residential Children’s Homes

The Environmental Intervention in Children’s Homes (ENRICH) study was the first published physical activity intervention undertaken in residential children’s homes (RCHs). The study revealed differences in implementation across the homes, which may be a key factor that affects program effectiveness. The purpose of this study was to examine the direct and indirect effects of organizational capacity, provider characteristics, and quality of prevention support system on level of implementation of the ENRICH intervention. This study analyzed the ENRICH process evaluation data collected from 24 RCHs. Bayesian Path analysis was used to examine the direct and indirect effects of organizational capacity, provider characteristics, and quality of prevention support system on level of implementation. Level of implementation across RCHs was variable, ranging from 38 to 97 % (M?=?68.3, SD?=?14.45). Results revealed that organizational capacity and provider characteristics had significant direct associations with level of implementation. Neither direct nor indirect associations between quality of prevention support system and level of implementation reached statistical significance. Conducting formative assessments on organizational capacity and provider characteristics and incorporating such information in implementation planning may increase the likelihood of achieving higher levels of implementation in future studies.     

Urban Preschool Teachers’ Nutrition Beliefs,Mealtime Practices,and Associations With Training

ObjectiveTo examine preschool teachers’ nutrition-related beliefs and practices and explore associations with Eat Well Play Hard in Child Care Settings (EWPHCCS) training.DesignCausal-comparative study using a post-only, cross-sectional survey exploring teachers’ nutrition-related beliefs and mealtime practices.SettingNew York City preschools serving low-income children.ParticipantsEthnically diverse preschool teachers (n = 660), 420 (response rate 90.4%) with EWPHCCS training and 240 (response rate 57.1%) without training.Main Outcome MeasuresTeachers’ beliefs about their preschool nutrition environments and compliance with recommended mealtime practices.AnalysisAnalysis of variance and hierarchical linear modeling.ResultsOverall, teachers reported generally favorable beliefs about their preschool nutrition environments and compliance with recommended mealtime practices. EWPHCCS teachers reported more favorable scores on beliefs and practices than nontrained teachers. Teachers who were not parents reported significantly lower scores on beliefs and practices than teachers who were parents. White teachers and the least experienced teachers reported the lowest scores on compliance with mealtime practices.Conclusions and ImplicationsEWPHCCS training was associated with higher scores on both beliefs and practices. However, school-level policy and leadership may also be important. Providing specific training for preschool directors and addressing food quality may further improve teachers’ nutrition-related attitudes, beliefs, and practices.     

Nutrition Curriculum Training and Implementation Improves Teachers’ Self-Efficacy,Knowledge, and Outcome Expectations

ObjectiveTo examine the effects of training and implementation of Forecasting Your Future: Nutrition Matters on teachers’ self-efficacy to teach nutrition and teachers’ nutrition knowledge and explore outcome expectations for students.MethodsA mixed-methods study, with Indiana Family and Consumer Sciences high school teachers randomized to control and intervention, was conducted using baseline surveys, implementation of new or usual curriculum, follow-up survey(s), and semistructured interviews. Self-efficacy and knowledge were analyzed by hierarchical linear modeling. Interviews were thematically analyzed using a 5-phase process to identify outcome expectations.ResultsIntervention teachers (n = 17) had greater increases in nutrition knowledge (P = 0.028) and self-efficacy (P = 0.010) compared with controls (n = 18). Interviews revealed that teachers sought to affect students’ long-term health by providing knowledge and skills to make healthy choices.Conclusions and ImplicationsThis training with updated curricula and implementation improved theoretical determinants of effective nutrition instruction. Teachers expected student learning will contribute to future eating behaviors.     

Improving Children’s Expressive Language and Auditory Comprehension Through Responsive Caregiving: Evidence from a Randomized Controlled Trial of a Strength-Based Video-Coaching Intervention

Prevention Science - Young children from low-SES backgrounds are at higher risk for delayed language development, likely due to differences in their home language environment and decreased...     

Preschool Teachers’ Professional Training,Observational Feedback,Child-Centered Beliefs and Motivation: Direct and Indirect Associations with Social and Emotional Responsiveness

Background

Young children’s social and emotional competence is a key predictor of their current and future academic and social success. Although preschool teachers are critical socializing agent of children’s social and emotional development, we know little about factors associated with preschool teachers’ social and emotional responsiveness.

Objective

This study examined how preschool teachers’ educational training and regularity of receiving observational feedback were associated with teachers’ social and emotional responsiveness, as mediated by more personal characteristics such as teachers’ child-centered beliefs and motivation for professional development.

Method

We investigated direct and indirect associations using a national survey of 1129 preschool teachers in the United States.

Results

We found that teachers with an associate degree, compared to those without, were more likely to respond negatively to children’s emotional displays. Taking child development or early education coursework was associated with less negative social guidance. Receiving regular observational feedback was associated with greater encouragement of expressing emotion and with less negative social guidance. We also found significant indirect associations. For example, teachers who received regular observational feedback had greater motivation for professional development, which in turn, predicted more positive social guidance and emotional responsiveness.

Conclusions

More stringent educational criteria for preschool educators and ongoing observational feedback may support teachers’ optimal social and emotional responsiveness. In addition, educational training should incorporate child-centered theory and practices and observational feedback should include information specific to professional development resources.

     

Children’s Attendance Rates and Quality of Teacher-Child Interactions in At-Risk Preschool Classrooms: Contribution to Children’s Expressive Language Growth

The present research examines whether children’s daily attendance rates would be predictive of gains in expressive language within the context of high-quality preschool classrooms. The quality of preschool classrooms was assessed by measuring the quality of the teacher’s interactions with the children in his or her classroom. Hierarchical linear models, nesting children within classroom, were used to examine children’s growth in expressive language in two independent samples (n = 129 children in 14 classrooms; n = 160 children in 46 classrooms). Results showed positive relations between daily attendance and language gains for children enrolled in higher quality preschool classrooms. Findings suggest that at-risk children who are rarely absent from high-quality preschool classrooms show accelerated expressive language growth, thus indicating that preschool attendance is an important factor to consider in future research and policy decisions.     

School Climate and Teachers’ Beliefs and Attitudes Associated with Implementation of the Positive Action Program: A Diffusion of Innovations Model

Teacher- and school-level factors influence the fidelity of implementation of school-based prevention and social character and development (SACD) programs. Using a diffusion of innovations framework, the relationships among teacher beliefs and attitudes towards a prevention/SACD program and the influence of a school’s administrative support and perceptions of school connectedness, characteristics of a school’s climate, were specified in two cross-sectional mediation models of program implementation. Implementation was defined as the amount of the programs’ curriculum delivered (e.g., lessons taught), and use of program-specific materials in the classroom (e.g., ICU boxes and notes) and in relation to school-wide activities (e.g., participation in assemblies). Teachers from 10 elementary schools completed year-end process evaluation reports for year 2 (N = 171) and 3 (N = 191) of a multi-year trial. Classroom and school-wide material usage were each favorably associated with the amount of the curriculum delivered, which were associated with teachers’ attitudes toward the program which, in turn, were related to teachers’ beliefs about SACD. These, in turn, were associated with teachers’ perceptions of school climate. Perceptions of school climate were indirectly related to classroom material usage and both indirectly and directly related to the use of school-wide activities. Program developers need to consider the importance of a supportive environment on program implementation and attempt to incorporate models of successful school leadership and collaboration among teachers that foster a climate promoting cohesiveness, shared visions, and support.

Pilot Intervention Enhances Preschoolers’ Self-Regulation and Food Liking

ObjectiveThe goal of this study was to develop and evaluate a 5-week intervention that targeted self-regulation and healthy food liking through mindfulness and classroom-based games with exposure to fruits and vegetables.MethodsChildren (mean age, 3.6 ± 0.05 years) in 1 Head Start center received the classroom-based intervention (n = 24) and children in a second did not (n = 15). Assessments of self-regulation and liking of fruits and vegetables were administered pre- and postintervention.ResultsChildren in the intervention, but not the comparison group, experienced significant improvements in behavioral regulation (P = 0.003) and liking of fruits and vegetables (P = 0.02).Conclusions and ImplicationsThis study lays a foundation for future research that replicates findings with a larger sample using a randomized controlled design, incorporates more typical mindful eating practices, and includes additional, broader measures of food liking.     

Predictors of Group Leaders’ Perceptions of Parents’ Initial and Dynamic Engagement in a Family Preventive Intervention

Attendance and participant engagement are two consistent predictors of the efficacy of preventive interventions. Although both are typically measured and analyzed as static factors, evidence indicates patterns of attendance and participant engagement change over the course of intervention. Understanding parent characteristics that predict engagement may inform strategies to maximize parents’ involvement thereby increasing intervention uptake and improving effects. This study examined whether parents’ baseline characteristics predicted their engagement in a family-based intervention. The study was conducted with 515 caregivers participating in a randomized comparative trial testing the efficacy of The Mindfulness-Enhanced Strengthening Families Program 10-14 (MSFP 10-14) and The Strengthening Families Program: For Parents and Youth 10-14 (SFP 10-14). Facilitator ratings were used to measure parent engagement. Results indicated generally high levels of initial engagement with small, but a significant linear increase across the intervention. Parental education level and involvement with their youth predicted engagement in the first session, while parents’ marital/relationship status, avoidance of conflict with their youth, involvement with their youth, and perceived parent-youth relationship quality at baseline predicted change in engagement. Results highlight engagement as a dynamic construct that changes over time and indicates potential variables that may help identify parents that may need support engaging in this intervention.