Educators' group-related sensitivity builds close relationships during morning goodbye transitions in centre-based child care settings

Title: Educators’ group-related sensitivity builds close relationships during morning goodbye transitions in centre-based child care settings

Introduction: The morning goodbye transition has generally been understood in terms of dyadic relationships, i.e., parent-infant, educator-parent, or infant-educator. However, this transition typically involves three or more participants; the educator, infant, parent and onlookers. Research into professional development programmes that supports educators to attend to the needs of individual infants, whilst also managing the group during the morning goodbye is needed. It will help to understand how educators’ developing capacity for group-related sensitivity can build close relationships during times of stress and distress.

Aim:This research examines how the professional development programme, Baby Playspace Learning (BPL), was associated with more triangular interactions (measures of closeness) in the Negotiated Goodbye.

Study Population: Participants were 20 families and their infants aged between 8 and 18-months who were enrolled in an Australian Long Day Care centre. Of the 20 infants nine were girls. Participants also included five educators who worked in the infants’ room of the centre.

Methods: In a pre-post design, video recordings of 20 morning goodbye transitions (10 pre and 10 post) were collected across a 12-month period. Infants, their parents and educators were filmed when the infant and parent entered the room and ended when the parent left. A reliable observational coding system was developed to code the video recordings of the morning goodbye transitions. Video recordings were analysed for developing closeness, by measuring the frequency of triangular interactions.

Results: Post-test, educators engaged in significantly more triangular interactions, keeping the ‘team of three’ physically and emotionally close. Infants observed their parent and educator in relationship as they engaged in a ‘negotiation goodbye ceremony’. Educators created more openings for parent and infant to come together in a mutual meeting or expression of affection, so that the goodbye was not left out and the educator was able to observe the closeness between them. After the infant and parent separated, the educator maintained this closeness by asking the parent to wave at the door, turning the infant toward their parent and reassuring them within their parent’s hearing that their parent was thinking of them. In this instance, the parent was able to observe the closeness between the educator and infant. Post-test, onlooking infants were significantly more likely to watch/and or listen to the goodbyes of their peers. This moment of connection helped them understand their own and others’ experience and see that adults could manage such difficult moments.

To conclude, BPL was effective in supporting educators to stay in close to infants, families and infant peers during the morning goodbye transition. Post implementation of BPL, educators developed a capacity for group-related sensitivity where they could attend to the needs of an individual infant whilst also managing the group by creating opportunities for each of them to witness the developing closeness in relationships during this potential time of distress. Educators became part of a group based on shared experiences rather than just managing competing individual demands.