Does the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management programme improve child–teacher relationships in childcare centres? A 1-year universal intervention in a Norwegian community sample

The study investigates the effect The Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management (IY TCM) intervention programme has on the relationship between kindergarten teachers and children. The intervention aims to reduce behavioural problems (internalisation and externalisation problems) among children in kindergarten. The study also investigates whether the intervention has an effect on all children, including those who are not at risk of developing behavioural problems, and whether any effects persist over time.

The study put forward the following hypotheses:

1. The kindergarten teachers involved with the IY TCM programme (intervention group) would report positive changes related to closeness and conflict in the child-adult relationship compared to teachers who were not involved with the intervention (control group).
2. The children in the intervention group with behavioural problems would undergo the same positive changes as the other children in the intervention group, compared to children with behavioural problems in the control group.

The results show that the IY TCM intervention had positive effects on all children in the intervention group. Children in the intervention group who were at risk of developing behavioural problems almost reached the same levels of closeness as the other children in the intervention group, and their behaviour was better at the post-test than at the pre-test. This shows that the child-adult relationship is changeable. The authors also recommend that entire groups of children be included in such interventions, not just children at risk of developing behavioural problems, as a good child-adult relationship in kindergarten is considered to protect the child from developing mental problems at a later stage.

Norwegian kindergartens that had already implemented The Incredible Years Parenting Programme were also invited to implement IY TCM. A total of 921 children (3–6 years old) from 46 kindergartens are included in the study. The study is quasi-experimental and uses pre- and post-tests that are eight to nine months apart. The kindergarten teachers assessed the children’s behaviour at the pre- and post-tests using The Caregiver–Teacher Report Form (C-TRF) tool. The kindergarten teachers’ assessments were then analysed.

Tveit, H. H., Drugli, M. B., Fossum, S., Handegård, B. H. & Stenseng, F. (2020). "Does the Incredible Years Teacher Classroom Management programme improve child–teacher relationships in childcare centres? A 1-year universal intervention in a Norwegian community sample". European Child & Adolescent Psychiatry, 29(5):625–636.