Hostname: page-component-cd9895bd7-jkksz Total loading time: 0 Render date: 2024-12-23T07:38:36.297Z Has data issue: false hasContentIssue false
  • English
  • Français

Promoting Children’s Social-Emotional Learning Through Early Education: Piloting the Pyramid Model in Victorian Preschools

Published online by Cambridge University Press:  02 September 2021

Janene M. Swalwell Open the ORCID record for Janene M. Swalwell [Opens in a new window]  and
Louise A. McLean Open the ORCID record for Louise A. McLean [Opens in a new window]
Janene M. Swalwell
Affiliation:
Monash University, Australia
Louise A. McLean*
Affiliation:
Monash University, Australia
*
*Corresponding author. Email: [email protected]
Get access Rights & Permissions [Opens in a new window]

Abstract

The Pyramid Model (PM) is an evidence-based, early educational framework designed to promote all young children’s social-emotional-behavioural (SEB) learning. The tiered PM early education practice framework, developed in North America, embeds strategies for children with exceptional needs naturally and coherently integrates apparently divergent approaches to promoting young children’s SEB skills. Responsive teaching, which is fundamental to early education practice, is shown to link with positive behaviour support practices by means of incidental and planned intentional teaching. These early education PM practices are intended to promote children’s SEB skills when used together purposefully, consistently, and intensively. The PM’s potential application in Australia was investigated with 4–5-year-olds in 4 Victorian preschools. Quantitative data from the study suggested that after training and subsequent coaching in the PM, there was significant change in intervention educators’ behaviour, which was independently observed and rated using the Teaching Pyramid Observation Tool. Concurrently, the SEB skills of the children in the intervention groups were shown to have developed at a significantly greater rate than the children in the contrast groups as assessed using the Social Skills Improvement System Rating Scales.

Keywords

coachingsocial-emotional learningearly childhood educationchallenging behaviourresponse to interventionPyramid Model
Type
Original Articles
Information
Australasian Journal of Special and Inclusive Education , Volume 45 , Issue 2 , December 2021 , pp. 122 - 134
Copyright
© The Author(s), 2021. Published by Cambridge University Press

Access options

Get access to the full version of this content by using one of the access options below. (Log in options will check for institutional or personal access. Content may require purchase if you do not have access.)

Footnotes

†

This manuscript was accepted under the Editorship of Michael Arthur-Kelly.

References

Arslan, E., Durmuşoğlu-Saltali, N., & Yilmaz, H. (2011). Social skills and emotional and behavioral traits of preschool children. Social Behavior and Personality, 39, 1281–1287. https://doi.org/10.2224/sbp.2011.39.9.1281 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Australian Children’s Education and Care Quality Authority. (2012). National Quality Framework for early childhood education and care services. Retrieved from http://www.acecqa.gov.au/national-quality-framework Google Scholar
Batra, P. (2017). Quality of education and the poor: Constraints on learning. In Peters, M. A., Cowie, B., & Menter, I. (Eds.), A companion to research in teacher education (pp. 417–433). Singapore: Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-4075-7_28 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Becker, B. D., Gallagher, K. C., & Whitaker, R. C. (2017). Teachers’ dispositional mindfulness and the quality of their relationships with children in Head Start classrooms. Journal of School Psychology, 65, 40–53. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jsp.2017.06.004 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Blase, K. A., Fixsen, D. L., Sim, B. J., & Ward, C. S. (2015, April). Implementation science: Changing hearts, minds, behavior, and systems to improve educational outcomes. Paper presented at the Wing Institute’s Ninth Annual Summit on Evidence-Based Education, Berkeley, CA.Google Scholar
Branson, D., & Demchak, M. (2011). Toddler teachers’ use of Teaching Pyramid practices. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 30, 196–208. https://doi.org/10.1177/0271121410369184 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Buysse, V. (2012). Access, participation, and supports: A framework for improving inclusive early education opportunities for children with disabilities. In Pianta, R. C., Barnett, W. S., Justice, L. M., & Sheridan, S. M. (Eds.), Handbook of early childhood education (pp. 480–506). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Campbell, F., Conti, G., Heckman, J. J., Seong, H. M., Pinto, R., Pungello, E., & Pan, Y. (2014). Early childhood investments substantially boost adult health. Science, 343, 1478–1485. https://doi.org/10.1126/science.1248429 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Collie, R. J. (2017). Teachers’ social and emotional competence: Links with social and emotional learning and positive workplace outcomes. In Frydenberg, E., Martin, A. J., & Collie, R. J. (Eds.), Social and emotional learning in Australia and the Asia-Pacific: Perspectives, programs and approaches (pp. 167–184). Singapore: Springer Nature. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-981-10-3394-0_9 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Cummings, K. P. (2017). Supporting parent engagement in programme-wide behavioural intervention implementation. Early Childhood Development and Care, 187, 1623–1634. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004430.2016.1177042 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Denham, S. A., Bassett, H. H., Zinsser, K., & Wyatt, T. M. (2014). How preschoolers’ social–emotional learning predicts their early school success: Developing theory-promoting, competency-based assessments. Infant and Child Development, 23, 426–454. https://doi.org/10.1002/icd.1840 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Department of Education, Employment and Workplace Relations. (2009). Belonging, being and becoming: The early years learning framework for Australia. Retrieved from https://www.acecqa.gov.au/sites/default/files/2018-02/belonging_being_and_becoming_the_early_years_learning_framework_for_australia.pdf Google Scholar
Dunst, C. J., & Trivette, C. M. (2009). Let’s be PALS: An evidence-based approach to professional development. Infants & Young Children, 22, 164–156. https://doi.org/10.1097/IYC.0b013e3181abe169 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Durlak, J. A., Weissberg, R. P., Dymnicki, A. B., Taylor, R. D., & Schellinger, K. B. (2011). The impact of enhancing students’ social and emotional learning: A meta-analysis of school-based universal interventions. Child Development, 82, 405–432. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2010.01564.x CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fearon, R. P., Bakermans-Kranenburg, M. J., Van IJzendoorn, M. H., Lapsley, A.-M., & Roisman, G. I. (2010). The significance of insecure attachment and disorganization in the development of children’s externalizing behavior: A meta-analytic study. Child Development, 81, 435–456. https://doi.org/10.1111/j.1467-8624.2009.01405.x CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Fox, L., Dunlap, G., Hemmeter, M. L., Joseph, G. E., & Strain, P. S. (2003). The Teaching Pyramid: A model for supporting social competence and preventing challenging behavior in young children. Young Children, 58, 48–52.Google Scholar
Fox, L., & Hemmeter, M. L. (2009). A programwide model for supporting social emotional development and addressing challenging behavior in early childhood settings. In Sailor, W., Dunlap, G., Sugai, G., & Horner, R. (Ed.), Handbook of positive behavior support (pp. 177–202). New York, NY: Springer. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-0-387-09632-2_8 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Gresham, F. M., & Elliott, S. N. (2008). Social Skills Improvement System (SSIS) Rating Scales. Minneapolis, MN: Pearson.Google Scholar
Hall, J., Sylva, K., Sammons, P., Melhuish, E., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart, B. (2013). Can preschool protect young children’s cognitive and social development? Variation by center quality and duration of attendance. School Effectiveness and School Improvement, 24, 155–176. https://doi.org/10.1080/09243453.2012.749793 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Harms, T., Clifford, R. M., & Cryer, D. (2005). Early Childhood Environment Rating Scale (Rev. ed.). New York, NY: Teachers College.Google Scholar
Heckman, J. J., & Raul, L. K. (2016). Intergenerational long-term effects of preschool-structural estimates from a discrete dynamic programming model. Journal of Econometrics, 191, 164–175. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jeconom.2015.10.001 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Hemmeter, M. L., & Conroy, M. A. (2012). Supporting the social competence of young children with challenging behavior in the context of the Teaching Pyramid Model: Research-based practices and implementation in early childhood settings In Pianta, R. C., Barnett, W. S., Justice, L. M., & Sheridan, S. M. (Eds.), Handbook of early childhood education (pp. 416–434). New York, NY: The Guilford Press.Google Scholar
Hemmeter, M. L., Fox, L., & Hardy, J. K. (2016). Supporting the implementation of tiered models of behavior support in early childhood settings. In Reichow, B., Boyd, B. A., Barton, E. E., & Odom, S. L. (Ed.), Handbook of early childhood special education (pp. 247–265). Switzerland: Springer International.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hemmeter, M. L., Fox, L., & Snyder, P. (2013a). Teaching Pyramid Observation Tool (TPOT™) for Preschool Classrooms manual (Research ed.). Baltimore, MD: Brookes.Google Scholar
Hemmeter, M. L., Fox, L., & Snyder, P. (2013b). A tiered model for promoting social-emotional competence and addressing challenging behavior. In Buysse, V. & Peisner-Feinberg, E. S. (Eds.), Handbook of response to intervention in early childhood (pp. 85–101). Baltimore, MD: Brookes.Google Scholar
Hemmeter, M. L., Fox, L., Snyder, P., & Algina, G. (2012). Examining the efficacy of a classroom-wide model for promoting social emotional development and addressing challenging behavior in preschool children with or at-risk for disabilities. Washington, DC: U.S. Department of Education, Institute of Education Sciences.Google Scholar
Hemmeter, M. L., Snyder, P., & Fox, L. (2018). Using the Teaching Pyramid Observation Tool (TPOT) to support implementation of social–emotional teaching practices. School Mental Health, 10, 202–213. https://doi.org/10.1007/s12310-017-9239-y CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hemmeter, M. L., Snyder, P., Fox, L., & Algina, G. (2011, April). Efficacy of classroom wide model for promoting social-emotional development and preventing challenging behavior. Paper presented at the annual meeting of the American Educational Research Association, New Orleans, NJ.Google Scholar
Hemmeter, M. L., Snyder, P. A., Fox, L., & Algina, J. (2016). Evaluating the implementation of the Pyramid Model for Promoting Social-Emotional Competence in early childhood classrooms. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 36, 133–146. https://doi.org/10.1177/0271121416653386 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Hepach, R., Vaish, A., & Tomasello, M. (2017). Children’s intrinsic motivation to provide help themselves after accidentally harming others. Child Development, 88, 1251–1264. https://doi.org/10.1111/cdev.12646 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Landry, S. H., Zucker, T. A., Taylor, H. B., Swank, P. R., Williams, J. M., Assel, M., … Klein, A. (2014). Enhancing early child care quality and learning for toddlers at risk: The responsive early childhood program. Developmental Psychology, 50, 526–541. https://doi.org/10.1037/a0033494 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Luo, L., Snyder, P., Clark, C. L., & Hong, X. (2017). Preschool teachers’ use of Pyramid Model practices in mainland China. Infants & Young Children, 30, 221–237. https://doi.org/10.1097/IYC.0000000000000096 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
McCormick, M. P., Cappella, E., O’Connor, E. E., & McClowry, S. G. (2015). Social-emotional learning and academic achievement: Using causal methods to explore classroom-level mechanisms. AERA Open, 1(3), 1–26. https://doi.org/10.1177/2332858415603959 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Mincic, M., Smith, B. J., & Strain, P. S. (2009). Administrator strategies that support high fidelity implementation of the Pyramid Model for promoting social-emotional competence & addressing challenging behavior. Retrieved from http://www.challengingbehavior.org Google Scholar
Moore, T. G. (2014, March). Relationships between evidence-based practices, evidence-based processes, and beliefs and values: An Australian perspective. Paper presented at the Early Childhood Intervention Australia (Victorian Chapter) Seminar with Dr Carl Dunst and Guests, Melbourne, Victoria, Australia.Google Scholar
Niklas, F., Cohrssen, C., Vidmar, M., Segerer, R., Schmiedeler, S., Galpin, R., … Tayler, C. (2018). Early childhood professionals’ perceptions of children’s school readiness characteristics in six countries. International Journal of Educational Research, 90, 144–159. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.ijer.2018.06.001 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Nuttall, J., & Edwards, S. (2013). Diverse theories for diverse learners? The Australian Early Years Learning Framework. In Georgeson, J. & Payler, J. (Eds.), International perspectives on early childhood education and care (pp. 204–215). Berkshire, England: Open University.Google Scholar
Perlman, M., Falenchuk, O., Fletcher, B., McMullen, E., Beyene, J., & Shah, P. S. (2016). A systematic review and meta-analysis of a measure of staff/child interaction quality (the Classroom Assessment Scoring System) in early childhood education and care settings and child outcomes. PLoS One, 11(12), 1–33. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0167660 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Pianta, R. C., La Paro, K. M., & Hamre, B. K. (2008). Classroom Assessment Scoring System manual: Pre-K. Baltimore, MD: Brookes.Google Scholar
Pramling, N., & Pramling Samuelsson, I. (2018). Pedagogies in early childhood education. In Fleer, M. & van Oers, B. (Eds.), International handbook of early childhood education (pp. 1311–1322). Dordrecht, the Netherlands: Springer.CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snyder, P. A., Hemmeter, M. L., & Fox, L. (2015). Supporting implementation of evidence-based practices through practice-based coaching. Topics in Early Childhood Special Education, 35, 133–143. https://doi.org/10.1177/0271121415594925 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Snyder, P. A., Hemmeter, M. L., Fox, L., Bishop, C. C., & Miller, M. D. (2013). Developing and gathering psychometric evidence for a fidelity instrument: The Teaching Pyramid Observation Tool–Pilot Version. Journal of Early Intervention, 35, 150–172. https://doi.org/10.1177/1053815113516794 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Spencer-Rodgers, J., Williams, M. J., & Peng, K. (2010). Cultural differences in expectations of change and tolerance for contradiction: A decade of empirical research. Personality and Social Psychology Review, 14, 296–312. https://doi.org/10.1177/1088868310362982 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Steed, E. A., & Pomerleau, T. M. (2012). Preschool-Wide Evaluation Tool (PreSETTM) manual: Assessing universal program-wide positive behavior support in early childhood. Baltimore, MD: Brookes.Google Scholar
Swalwell, J. M. (2016, June). Intercountry translation of the Pyramid Model: America to Australia. Paper presented at the International Society of Early Intervention Conference, Stockholm, Sweden.Google Scholar
Sylva, K., Melhuish, E., Sammons, P., Siraj-Blatchford, I., & Taggart., B. (2011). Pre-school quality and educational outcomes at age 11: Low quality has little benefit. Journal of Early Childhood Research, 9, 109–124. https://doi.org/10.1177/1476718X10387900 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tayler, C. (2012). Learning in Australian early childhood education and care settings: Changing professional practice. Education 3-13, 40, 7–18. https://doi.org/10.1080/03004279.2012.635046 CrossRefGoogle Scholar
Tayler, C., Cloney, D., Adams, R., Ishimine, K., Thorpe, K., & Nguyen, T. K. C. (2016). Assessing the effectiveness of Australian early childhood education and care experiences: Study protocol. BMC Public Health, 16, 1–12. https://doi.org/10.1186/s12889-016-2985-1 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Trivette, C. M., & Dunst, C. J. (2011). Consequences of interest-based learning on the social-affective behavior of young children with autism. Life Span and Disability, XIV, 101–110.Google Scholar
Victorian Department of Education and Early Childhood Development & Victorian Curriculum and Assessment Authority. (2009). Victorian early years learning and development framework for all children from birth to eight years. East Melbourne, Australia: State of Victoria Department of Education and Training.Google Scholar
Walker, H. M., & McConnell, S. R. (1995). Walker–McConnell Scale of Social Competence and School Adjustment. San Diego, CA: Singular.Google Scholar
Woolley, K., & Fishbach, A. (2018). It’s about time: Earlier rewards increase intrinsic motivation. Journal of Personality and Social Psychology, 114, 877–890. https://doi.org/10.1037/pspa0000116 CrossRefGoogle ScholarPubMed
Yang, W., Datu, J. A. D., Lin, X., Lau, M. M., & Li, H. (2019). Can early childhood curriculum enhance social-emotional competence in low-income children? A meta-analysis of the educational effects. Early Education and Development, 30, 36–59. https://doi.org/10.1080/10409289.2018.1539557 CrossRefGoogle Scholar