TY - JOUR
T1 - Attachment Predicts College Students’ Knowledge, Attitudes, and Skills for Working With Infants, Toddlers, and Families
AU - Vallotton, Claire D.
AU - Torquati, Julia
AU - Ispa, Jean
AU - Chazan-Cohen, Rachel
AU - Henk, Jennifer
AU - Fusaro, Maria
AU - Peterson, Carla A.
AU - Roggman, Lori A.
AU - Stacks, Ann M.
AU - Cook, Gina
AU - Brophy-Herb, Holly
N1 - Publisher Copyright:
© 2016 Taylor & Francis.
Copyright:
Copyright 2016 Elsevier B.V., All rights reserved.
PY - 2016/2/17
Y1 - 2016/2/17
N2 - Research Findings: Adults’ attitudes about attachment relationships are central to how they perceive and respond to children. However, little is known about how attachment styles are related to teachers’ attitudes toward and interactions with infants and toddlers. From a survey of 207 students taking early childhood (EC) courses at 4 U.S. universities, we report relations among students’ attachment styles and their (a) career goals, (b) attitudes about caring for and educating infants and young children, and (c) interaction skills for responding in developmentally supportive ways. Overall, attachment security was positively associated with career goals focused on working with younger children, knowledge about infant/toddler development, attitudes that acknowledge the importance of adult support in children’s development, and developmentally supportive interaction skills. Students who scored high on attachment fearfulness minimized the importance of adults in children’s lives, minimized the importance of the early years for later learning, and endorsed strict and controlling forms of child guidance. Practice or Policy: A conceptual mediation model linking a path from attachment to caregiving skill through knowledge and attitudes is articulated. We propose a person-centered pedagogy for infant/toddler professional preparation that provides opportunities for reflection on one’s own attachment and its effects on work with young children.
AB - Research Findings: Adults’ attitudes about attachment relationships are central to how they perceive and respond to children. However, little is known about how attachment styles are related to teachers’ attitudes toward and interactions with infants and toddlers. From a survey of 207 students taking early childhood (EC) courses at 4 U.S. universities, we report relations among students’ attachment styles and their (a) career goals, (b) attitudes about caring for and educating infants and young children, and (c) interaction skills for responding in developmentally supportive ways. Overall, attachment security was positively associated with career goals focused on working with younger children, knowledge about infant/toddler development, attitudes that acknowledge the importance of adult support in children’s development, and developmentally supportive interaction skills. Students who scored high on attachment fearfulness minimized the importance of adults in children’s lives, minimized the importance of the early years for later learning, and endorsed strict and controlling forms of child guidance. Practice or Policy: A conceptual mediation model linking a path from attachment to caregiving skill through knowledge and attitudes is articulated. We propose a person-centered pedagogy for infant/toddler professional preparation that provides opportunities for reflection on one’s own attachment and its effects on work with young children.
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U2 - 10.1080/10409289.2016.1087778
DO - 10.1080/10409289.2016.1087778
M3 - Article
AN - SCOPUS:84955207999
VL - 27
SP - 275
EP - 302
JO - Early Education and Development
JF - Early Education and Development
SN - 1040-9289
IS - 2
ER -