Measuring the Quality of Teacher-Child Interactions in Toddler Child Care

Research Findings: The toddler stage is a unique developmental period of early childhood. During this stage, children are developing autonomy, self-regulation, and language capabilities through interactions with significant adults in their lives. Increasing numbers of toddlers are being enrolled in child care. This article focuses on the need to assess quality in child care classrooms serving children ages 15 to 36 months based on the developmental needs of toddlers. It suggests and provides preliminary validation information for a measure of teaching behaviors centered on teacher-child interactions adapted from the Classroom Assessment Scoring System and discusses results from observations in 30 toddler classrooms. Practice or Policy: Findings are discussed in terms of policy implications for toddler child care and future directions for research.