Methods: A clustered randomized control trial (RCT) design was used with random assignment of ECEs at the classroom group level to receive either COS-C or Training-as-usual (TAU) during a 2-month period. Total sample included 8 classrooms, 20 early childhood educators, and 128 students. ECEs range from 25-40 years of age and educational backgrounds extend from high school to some college level training. Forty-five percent of educators are African American, 45% White, and 2% Hispanic. The student population is approximately 82% African American, 14% Hispanic, 2% White, and 2% Other. ECE reported on student-teacher relationship quality as well as individual student behavior in the classroom. ECE also reported on self-efficacy, depression, job stress, and attitudes toward impact of trauma in education. ECE in the COS group provided feedback on usefulness of the training in survey and narrative form. Descriptive, correlational, and analysis of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to test intervention effect.
Results: Results from this study show significant differences in COS-C and TAU groups. ECEs in COS-C group report on average higher perceived closeness with students at post-treatment than the TAU groups, however, they also reported higher conflict. ECEs in COS-C groups also reported positive significant differences in students’ self-regulatory behaviors as compared to students in the TAU group. No differences were found in teacher’s level of self-efficacy, depression, or stress scores. Qualitative feedback from ECE report increased understanding of children’s attachment behaviors and strategies to meet emotional needs underlying challenging behaviors.
Conclusions and Implications: Results from this study have important practice and policy implications regarding ECE professional development around increasing knowledge, awareness, and skills in meeting key attachment needs essential for early learning. The COS-C training is a cost-effective professional development model that increases ECEs knowledge of social-emotional development needed for healthy student-teacher interactions for our youngest and most vulnerable student population. Focusing on healthy attachment-like relationships for young students can lead to important social emotional developmental gains and perhaps close educational achievement gaps sooner, particularly salient for children who have experienced early adverse caregiving environments.