The relationship of teacher interactive style to the engagement of developmentally delayed preschoolers.

Abstract

The relationship between teacher interactive style and the engagement of developmentally delayed preschoolers in situations commonly found in special education preschool classrooms was examined. An observational research study was conducted in which 49 teacher-child pairs were videotaped in 30 community-based self-contained preschool special education classrooms. The children had significant delays in the area of cognition and were functioning developmentally between the ages of eight months and three years, three months. Both teachers and teacher assistants were asked to participate. The pairs were videotaped during one 7 minute freeplay situation and during one 7 minute instructional situation. Prior to videotaping the dyads, each child was videotaped for 7 minutes while playing alone with toys. The videotapes were used to examine the relationships among teacher interactive style, child engagement while alone, developmental discrepancy of teacher and child behavior, and child engagement during interaction. The study revealed three major findings. First, a child-oriented style of interaction, in which adults were play-oriented and responsive to children's behavior, was positively associated with children's initiative and attention both with the teacher and activities. A directive, achievement-oriented style, in contrast, was positively associated with children's cooperation while negatively associated with children's initiative. Second, the findings suggested that although it was assumed that the teacher-child relationship was bi-directional, the teacher, as the more competent partner, may have determined the degree to which the child was an active partner during the interaction. Finally, there was little indication that the discrepancy of the developmental orientation of teacher requests and children's play levels was related to the nature of children's involvement during interaction.