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Positive Early Childhood Education (PECE) is an extension of the Triple P Positive Parenting Program, which has shown promise in reducing problematic behaviors in children, improving parents’ well-being/parenting skills, and bringing positive child welfare outcomes. PECE applies the Triple P framework to early learning settings. The purpose of this study is to report on the initial evaluation of the PECE project and show its potential to build the confidence and ability of staff in early learning settings to deal with difficult situations and develop children’s potential to the fullest.
Methods:
The present study examines the implementation of the PECE program in Ohio, focusing on two distinct components: 1) PECE Educator Training, an online training aimed at educators in early learning settings; and 2) PECE Coach Training, a live remote training for staff members in supervisory roles to be trained as PECE coaches. The evaluation involved data collection at two-time points for PECE educators (N=514; T1: pre-educator training, T2: post-educator training) and at three-time points for PECE coaches (N=54; t1: pre-coach training; t2: post-coach training, t3: follow-up). Specifically, we assessed the impact of the PECE program on educators' perceived confidence in managing child behavioral concerns as well as on PECE coaches' preparedness, confidence, and perceived proficiency in conducting coaching sessions. To measure changes, paired-sample t-tests and one-way analyses of variance (ANOVA) were conducted to compare pre-and post-training scores for educators and coaches, respectively.
Results:
PECE educator training
The current study identified disobedience, tantrum/temper outbursts, and fighting/aggression as the most common behavioral concerns among children in early learning settings. Through the paired-sample t-tests, we found a significant improvement in educators’ perceived confidence to manage all 16 child behavioral concern items. These results suggest that the PECE educator training can effectively enhance educators’ abilities to manage a wide range of challenging behaviors in children.
PECE coach training
The results of the one-way ANOVA revealed a significant improvement in coaches’ preparedness in conducting coaching sessions on managing child behavior as well as the perceived level of proficiency in all 16 educator consultation skills. Although the confidence in conducting coaching sessions did not reach statistical significance, improvement was shown when assessed by the average. These findings suggest that the PECE coach training can effectively equip coaches with the necessary skills to support educators.
Conclusions and Implications:
The preliminary analysis of the PECE program has revealed positive outcomes for both PECE educators and coaches, demonstrating its potential to enhance the quality of early learning settings. Educators showed a significant improvement in their confidence to manage child behavioral issues, while coaches exhibited an enhanced ability to support and guide educators in managing challenging behaviors and promoting positive outcomes in early learning settings. This study has provided empirical validation for the effectiveness of the early intervention/prevention program and established a valuable database for future testing. Furthermore, these results have important implications for preventing broader issues within early learning settings, such as reducing turnover/retention rates, improving job satisfaction/self-efficacy among educators, and decreasing expulsion rates of children.