Measuring interactional quality in pre-school settings: introduction and validation of the Sustained Shared Thinking and Emotional Wellbeing (SSTEW) scale

ABSTRACT

Research increasingly acknowledges the importance of high quality interactions that support and extend children’s thinking. Few measurement tools currently exist, however, to capture this specific aspect of process quality. The Sustained Shared Thinking and Emotional Wellbeing (SSTEW) scale was developed to assess interactional quality in early childhood education and care, and it includes dimensions of process quality based on developmental theories and practice in effective settings. This study compared ratings on the SSTEW and Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale – Extension (ECERS-E) to consider the impact of varying levels of curricular and interactional quality on child development in 45 Australian pre-school centres; namely the language, numeracy and socio-behavioural development of 669 children at the end of their pre-school year. Results indicated a level of predictive validity for interactional quality ratings as measured by SSTEW which, while related to curricular quality ratings on ECERS-E, differed in associations across domains of child development.

KEYWORDS:

• Preschool
• sustained shared thinking
• environment rating
• process quality
• child development
• predictive validity

Disclosure statement

No potential conflict of interest was reported by the authors.

Notes on contributors

Steven J. Howard’s research investigates early child development, as well as the educational implications of these changing capacities. This includes research to identify effective approaches to supporting children’s development that are low-cost and flexible, as well as identifying ways to monitor children’s developmental progress that are accessible, acceptable, and actionable by those who spend their time working with young children.

Iram Siraj’s research focuses on understanding the relationship between quality, pedagogy, and early assessment on young children’s developmental outcomes. She works in transdisciplinary teams on longitudinal studies to assess the long-term impact of the quality of pre-school and home environments on children from differing backgrounds.

Edward C. Melhuish is an international expert in early child development and the impact of home learning and pre-school experiences on children’s later outcomes. He also has vast experience linking child development with social policy, and is a consultant to the OECD, WHO, and EU.

Denise Kingston teaches across undergraduate and graduate courses within the Department of Education and Social Work. She is a qualified teacher and Educational Psychologist and her current research interests focus on supporting and improving the quality of early childhood education and care through evidence-based professional development.

Cathrine Neilsen-Hewett is Director of the Early Years at University of Wollongong, and has particular expertise in development in early childhood, early childhood pedagogy and practice, and staff training and childhood socialization.

Marc de Rosnay is Academic Director at Early Start, University of Wollongong, and has specific interest and expertise in social, emotional, and communicative development in the early years.

Elisabeth Duursma is interested in parenting and, in particular, how fathers engage with their young children and the impact this has on children’s early language and literacy development. Her research focuses specifically on vulnerable populations such as low-SES and linguistically and ethnically diverse families.

Betty Luu’s research interest is in understanding how early environments can best support children’s development. With a background in developmental psychology, she has contributed to child-related research areas, including: children’s psychosocial and cognitive development, the impact of early childhood teaching practices on children’s outcomes, and open adoption for children and young people in out-of-home care.

ORCID

Steven Howard http://orcid.org/0000-0002-1258-3210

Iram Siraj http://orcid.org/0000-0001-6752-881X

Marc de Rosnay http://orcid.org/0000-0001-8333-9541

Betty Luu http://orcid.org/0000-0003-4461-500X

Additional information

Funding

This work derives from data collected in the Fostering Effective Early Learning (FEEL) study, funded by NSW Department of Education and Training [grant number DECEAR-15-35].