Quality of educator-infant conversational interactions among infants experiencing varying quantity of linguistic input

ABSTRACT

Evidence suggests that the quantity of linguistic input experienced by infants in early childhood centres relates to the quality of educator-infant interactions. However, little is known about the linguistic properties of mutually responsive educator-infant interactions. This study uses sequence analyses to identify patterns of educator-infant three-turn conversations, and examine whether these patterns are related to the quantity of educator words (AWC) experienced by infants. We selected 15-minute video segments representing the peak quantity of AWC experienced by 14 infants across a three-hour period. Educator initiations were coded as knowledge- or non-knowledge-based, infant responses and educator follow-ups were coded as evaluative and elaborative. Each conversation was coded as terminate or continue. Four patterns of educator-infant conversations were identified, revealing significant differences in the conversations experienced by infants in the high and low AWC cohorts. Findings inform educators on how best to engage infants in mutually responsive, language-rich and sustained conversations.

KEYWORDS:

• Infant
• childcare
• language development
• educator-infant interactions
• quality
• early childhood education

Acknowledgements

We gratefully thank the educators and infants who were willing to participate in this study and generously allowed our research assistants to observe and film their practices.

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the author(s).

Additional information

Funding

This work was supported by the [Australian Research Council] under Grant [DP140101238].