Effects of professional development training on joint attention engagement in low‐quality childcare centers

Abstract

This study carries forward the exploration of joint attention engagement in children from 18 to 24 months of age enrolled in ‘low‐quality’ childcare centers. Childcare providers and children were videotaped to capture social interactions in the classroom including duration and bids for joint attention. One‐half of 48 childcare providers were randomly assigned to receive professional development training (PDT) (the Focus‐Follow‐Talk® technique) designed to increase the frequency of joint attention. Three months after the PDT and three coaching visits for each subject in the treatment group, 30 minutes of videotape was recorded and coded for each childcare provider in the treatment and control groups. Significant findings were reported for the trained childcare providers on joint attention engagement duration and total bids for joint attention engagement. There was also evidence supportive of joint attention subtypes.