Infant and early childhood mental health consultation: evaluating change in classroom climate and teaching practices by dosage of program exposure

Abstract

This study evaluated the effects of infant and early childhood mental health consultation dosage (IECMHC) on observations of classroom climate and teacher behavior management practices in seven schools from a charter school network. Classrooms were prioritized for consultation based on indicators collected during observations and either received no consultation, one cycle, or two or more cycles, each of which was approximately 10 weeks long. Fidelity of implementation was comparable between the two groups that received consultation at varying program exposure levels. Multilevel regression analyses examined how variation in the dose of consultation exposure related to both indicators of program quality considering the clustering of teachers within schools. The results showed that teachers most in need of consultation received it and that both short and long doses of consultation led to improvements in classroom climate and teaching practices outcomes over the academic year. Classrooms that received consultation for longer showed the largest change over time. Classrooms were equivalent on outcome indicators by the end of the school year and consultation appeared to have a protective effect against negative classroom climate.