Early childhood education accountability in Southern Alberta: teacher characteristics and classroom quality

This proposed study has two aims: 1) to examine classroom quality (e.g., teacher-child interaction quality) and its trend in early childhood education settings in Southern Alberta over one academic year; and 2) to explore associations between teacher characteristics (e.g., teacher education, teaching experience) and the provision of classroom quality. Repeated systematic observation will be conducted to assess classroom quality using the CLASS observation tool (Pianta et al., 2008). A teacher questionnaire will be administered to gather basic teacher demographic information. Findings can highlight the current state of provision of quality programs in Southern Alberta and whether there is variation in quality provision in relation to teacher characteristics.