The effect of ambient working conditions on teacher-child interactions and teacher stress and wellness

The quality of pre-school age child care is reported in research and policy literature in terms of social and organizational environments. It is known that higher quality child care occurs when the design of the physical environment is appropriate. The literature discusses relations between the social, organizational, and physical environment and child outcomes. Despite the research regarding the impact of the physical environment on children and the rapid expansion of child care in the United States, child care settings often continue to be housed inappropriately in converted warehouses, office buildings, and church basements with, for the most part, inadequate ambient conditions.; For children age three to five teachers are critical to children's active involvement in the environment. Efforts to enhance teacher performance have for the most part consisted of public policy campaigns, professional development in the form of training and education, and institution of regulations. If teacher performance influences children's outcomes then the effect of the ambient working conditions on teacher performance is important to understand. The problem is that there is a lack of relevant empirical research on this phenomenon.; This study examines the inter-relations of the ambient working conditions in child care and teacher performance and teacher stress and wellness. The basic premise is that the appropriateness of ambient conditions influences teacher performance, specifically the quality of teacher interaction with children and teacher stress and wellness, a potential mediator of teacher performance. The paucity of empirical evidence about relations between the ambient working conditions and teacher performance suggests a case study method of inquiry be used to examine a particular case. Such a case study may provide insight into refinement of theory and provide a small step toward generalization. The design of this study is based on theoretical propositions embedded in a person-in-context relation model. A single-subject, embedded pilot case study was employed.; Findings in this case study include: (1) Observed teacher-child interaction reflected more positive and reinforcing behavior after moving from a facility with inadequate ambient conditions to a facility with adequate conditions; (2) There is a positive relation between teacher stress management and wellness and the ambient conditions of the environment. The significance of this study therefore directly relates to child care quality improvement efforts and the design of child care work environments.