| The current study assessed the effectiveness of Teacher Child Interaction Training (TCIT), an adaptation of Eyberg's Parent Child Interaction Therapy (PCIT), on teacher and child behaviors in preschool and kindergarten classrooms. The sample included four classrooms in urban, socioeconomically disadvantaged and culturally diverse settings. Two preschool classrooms were included in the first study and one preschool and one kindergarten classroom were included in the second study. Both studies used a concurrent multiple baseline design to evaluate the effects of training and coaching on teacher and child behaviors in the classroom. The intervention focused on the development of a friendly attachment relationship, the strategic application of differential social attention and the use of careful discipline, including a "sit-and-watch" timeout procedure for the most challenging inappropriate behavior in the classroom. Teacher and child behavior changes were measured through observations and clinical ratings. Visual analyses of the graphs indicated teachers increased their skills and children decreased their disruptive behavior. Repeated measures ANOVA's and follow up t-tests indicated changes in increases in protective factors and decreases in maladaptive factors. |
