Improving global and math-specific teacher–toddler interactions through an intervention for early childcare teachers: The role of activity settings

This study is part of the ‘EarlyMath’ project, in which two teacher trainings, identical in terms of method and scope, but different in terms of focus and content, were developed to enhance global and math-specific teacher–toddler interactions in early childhood education and care (ECEC). We aimed to answer two questions: (1) Do teacher trainings improve global and math-specific interactions and (2) does this improvement differ in distinct activity settings (free play vs. structured activity)? Teachers from 95 toddler classrooms were randomly assigned to three groups: math-focused intervention (MIG), general intervention (GIG), and control (CG). The training was structured through nine modules emphasizing practical aspects, which included video analyses and role-plays. The results showed that the teacher training improved math-specific interactions in the MIG during free play, but not during structured activities. Global interaction quality did not significantly improve in either intervention group compared to the control group. This study highlights the potential of teacher training to enhance interactions in ECEC by emphasizing the specific role of activity settings.