The effects of PedaSens intervention on early childhood professionals’ emotional availability

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of a pedagogical group sensitivity (PedaSens) intervention on early childhood professionals’ (ECPs) emotional availability (EA) in group interactions. A total of 61 ECPs and 264 children 1–6 years of age were included in the follow-up study. To measure the effects of the intervention, participants were randomized to intervention and control groups. The intervention consists of raising ECPs’ knowledge of PedaSens both with theoretical information and video observations collected from the study groups. The quality of interaction was assessed with the Emotional Availability Scales before the intervention and the following assessments were approximately 6 and 9 months after the first assessment. Statistical analyses were used to test the differences in EA between the study groups. According to the results, intervention had a positive effect on ECPs’ EA sensitivity and non-intrusiveness. The results suggest that PedaSens intervention is effective in supporting the emotional availability of ECPs. In-service training for ECP teams aiming to enhance interaction skills and reflective processes offer an effective way to improve the quality of early childhood education and care.

Keywords

• emotional availability
• quality of early childhood education and care
• professional development
• intervention study