Feasibility, Acceptability, and Preliminary Effectiveness of a Reflective Supervision Professional Development Series Within Early Care and Education.

Abstract

The positive impacts of Reflective Supervision (RS) are becoming increasingly evident. This approach may be especially important for early childhood teachers, who must deliver academic curricula and attend to children's social-emotional development while maintaining high-quality program standards in increasingly challenging environmental contexts. However, to effectively provide RS to early childhood teachers, supervisors must first be trained in this approach. This paper describes the results of one such innovative training effort using data from a statewide, community-based program evaluation and a pilot open trial in the United States. Participants (N = 83 supervisors) were offered foundational training in RS followed by monthly skill-building sessions. We used a concurrent mixed methods approach, integrating observational, survey, and interview data collected simultaneously to assess feasibility, acceptability, and preliminary effectiveness of the RS professional development series. Data integration was achieved through contiguous narrative and joint display approaches.

Research findings: The RS series was feasible to implement, acceptable to participants, and led to improved reflective supervisory competencies.

Practice or policy: The RS series may represent an opportunity to effectively support the early care and education workforce, and in turn, benefit children. We discuss some differences between samples that may be useful for future implementation efforts across early care and education settings.