ABSTRACT
The present study extends research on classroom quality profiles by examining the differences between profiles with respect to children’s development in pre-academic skills and motivation across the kindergarten year. Teacher–child interactions were observed in 49 Finnish kindergarten classrooms using the CLASS Pre-K instrument. Based on prior identification of latent profiles of classroom quality, subgroup analyses on children’s data were carried out on three profiles representing high Emotional Support and Classroom Organisation and intermediate Instructional Support (Profile 1), higher-intermediate Emotional Support and Classroom Organisation and lower-intermediate Instructional Support (Profile 2), and intermediate Emotional Support and Classroom Organisation and low Instructional Support (Profile 3). Children’s (n = 504) pre-reading and pre-math skills were tested at the beginning and end of the kindergarten year, and their task behaviours were rated by the testers in assessment situations. The children’s vocabulary, number knowledge and interest in reading and math were measured at the end of the kindergarten year. The results indicated a significant increase in children’s number sequence skills and a significant decrease in avoidance and helplessness across the kindergarten year in Profile 1 compared to children in Profile 2. In contrast, a significant increase was found in helplessness and social dependence for children in Profile 3 compared to the other two profiles. Moreover, the children in Profile 2 showed a significant decrease in anxiety compared to those in Profile 3, whereas the children in Profile 3 showed less interest in reading than the children in the other profiles and had lower vocabulary scores than the children in the Profile 2 at the end of the kindergarten year. The results provide a new understanding about the effects of different classroom quality profiles on child outcomes, particularly in regard to motivation.
