AUTHOR=Siraj Iram , Melhuish Edward , Howard Steven J. , Neilsen-Hewett Cathrine , Kingston Denise , De Rosnay Marc , Huang Runke , Gardiner Julian , Luu Betty 

TITLE=Improving quality of teaching and child development: A randomised controlled trial of the leadership for learning intervention in preschools

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Psychology

VOLUME=13

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/psychology/articles/10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1092284

DOI=10.3389/fpsyg.2022.1092284

ISSN=1664-1078

ABSTRACT=<sec><title>Introduction</title><p>Substantial research indicates that high quality early childhood education and care (ECEC) confers a wide range of benefits for children, yet quality in ECEC remains inconsistent. Given the variability in training and qualifications, one strategy for improving ECEC quality is in-service professional development (PD).</p></sec><sec><title>Methods</title><p>The current study evaluated an evidence-based in-service PD programme, Leadership for Learning, via a cluster randomised controlled trial involving 83 ECEC services and 1,346 children in their final year of pre-school.</p></sec><sec><title>Results</title><p>Results indicated significant improvements in teaching quality across treatment centres and child development outcomes in language, numeracy and social-emotional development.</p></sec><sec><title>Discussion</title><p>This study provides strong support for making evidence-informed PD routinely available for ECEC practitioners.</p></sec>