A Randomized Controlled Trial of an Emotion Socialization Intervention in Norwegian Kindergartens

ABSTRACT

Research Findings: Early childhood workers (ECW’s) play a pivotal role in shaping children’s emotional competence. This study examined the efficacy of Tuning in to Kids for Kindergarten Teachers (TIK-KT) used with CLASS observations to improve ECW’s emotion socialization, kindergarten emotional climate and children’s functioning. Five hundred and forty-eight ECW’s and leaders from 49 Norwegian kindergartens (children 1–5?years) were cluster randomized into intervention or control. Senior employees from intervention kindergartens received a two-day TIK-KT training, ECW’s participated in a one-day training to learn emotion socialization skills and then ECW’s received supervision to use emotion coaching with the children. Baseline and 10-month follow-up measures included questionnaires with ECW’s and parents, and observations of kindergartens. Compared to controls, intervention ECW’s reported a significant decrease in emotion dismissing and distraction, and a significant increase in emotion coaching. Intervention but not control kindergartens were observed to have significantly increased positive climate, teacher sensitivity, regard for student/child perspective, and behavior guidance. There was no change in parent reported child behavior; however, floor effects at baseline and a short follow-up during the COVID pandemic may have made change difficult to detect. Practice or Policy: These findings provide preliminary support for use of TIK-KT as a universal intervention.

Trial Registration

Clinical Trials Registry No. NCT03985124

Acknowledgments

We would like to acknowledge the contribution of the ECWs, kindergarten leaders and administration, and parents who participated in this research trial. We would also like to acknowledge FUS Kindergartens who provided financial support to evaluate this intervention.

Disclosure Statement

Havighurst wishes to declare a conflict of interest in that she may benefit from positive reports of the Tuning in to Kids program. Proceeds from dissemination of the program provide funding for development and research with the program. Program authors and the University of Melbourne receive royalties from proceeds of manual sales.

Notes

1. In this paper, kindergarten will be used to include the universally offered, early childcare environment that children aged 1–5 years of age attend.

Additional information

Funding

The work was supported by the FUS Kindergartens.