Interaction quality in toddler classrooms: A cluster analysis across activity settings and structural associations

Background: High-quality educator-child interactions in toddler classrooms are essential for children’s socio-emotional, cognitive, and language development (Bratsch-Hines et al., 2020; Broekhuizen et al., 2018) and can help prevent early communication difficulties (Ebbels et al., 2019). Interaction quality varies across activity settings, such as mealtimes and educator-led activities, which offer both opportunities and challenges for promoting sensitivity and responsiveness (Cadima et al., 2023). Understanding these variations and their links to structural features, such as educator qualifications, is critical for designing professional development programs that enhance interaction quality (Slot, 2018; Egert et al., 2020). Cluster analysis, used only once in toddler classrooms (Wyslowska & Slot, 2020), offers valuable insights into tailoring educator training and enhancing children’s language outcomes. Objectives: This study identifies clusters of interaction quality in toddler classrooms using CLASS-Toddler ratings (La Paro et al., 2012) across activity settings and examines their associations with structural characteristics. Methodology: Educator-child interactions were videotaped in 40 French toddler classrooms (children aged 15–36 months), across various activity settings. CLASS-Toddler assessed Emotional and Behavioral Support and Engaged Support for Learning. Structural features, including educator qualifications, experience, and other factors, were collected via self-reported questionnaires. Results: Three profiles are expected: (1) classrooms offering both high emotional and learning support, (2) classrooms with high emotional but low learning support, and (3) classrooms with overall lower quality (Wyslowska & Slot, 2020). Educator-led activities might correspond with higher-quality profiles, while mealtimes may align with lower-quality clusters (Cadima et al., 2023). Structural features, such as in-service training and qualifications, are expected to correlate with higher interaction quality (Egert et al., 2020; Manning et al., 2019). Implications: Professional development programs should target lower-quality settings, such as mealtimes, to strengthen educator interactions and support early language development.