Teacher–child interaction quality as a function of classroom age diversity and teachers’ beliefs and qualifications

Data from 332 teachers who participated in the National Center for Research on Early Childhood Education study were used to examine the implications of classroom age diversity in preschool programs for teacher interactions with students in areas of instructional and emotional support, and classroom organization. Teachers in early childhood classrooms with greater age diversity within a school year and who experienced an increase in age diversity across years exhibited less optimal teacher–child interactions. The negative effects of age diversity for teacher–child interactions were only noticeable among teachers with fewer years of education and experience, and among teachers whose views of children were less child-centered. When taken together, results indicate that closer attention should be paid to the consequences of classroom age diversity in preschool and that a multi-year perspective on teachers’ classroom experiences would allow for a more nuanced understanding of the quality of teacher–child interactions.