Understanding Child Noncompliance in the Early Care Setting

Abstract

This study examines how teachers respond to children’s noncompliance in early care settings. This structured observational study will focus on the moment to moment interactions occurring within the preschool classroom between both the child and teacher. It is predicted that (1) teacher’s direct bids to children will promote greater instances of child compliance than indirect bids, and (2) teachers’ responsive language will promote greater instances of child compliance than restrictive language. The results of this study will contribute to existing knowledge about the nature of teacher child interactions in the early care settings.