An Evaluation of “Preventing Expulsion in Preschool” Teacher Training

Preschoolers are being excluded from early childhood education settings at an alarming rate, for behaviors that are largely developmentally typical, emotional responses. And boys, Black children, and children with disabilities are being excluded disproportionately more than their peers. In 2018, Illinois enacted legislation to limit formal expulsion; however, children are still pushed out of programs. This study evaluated PEP—a self-paced, virtual teacher training providing content on exclusion in Illinois, social-emotional (SE) development, and strategies for self-regulation in response to a child’s behavior. Using a randomized, experimental design, two versions of PEP were compared, with one group (UPE, N = 52) receiving only didactics about exclusion and SE development, and the other group (PEP, N = 41) receiving both didactics and skills. Teachers received continuing education credit for completing the training and were evaluated pre-, post-, and 3-month-post-training to assess knowledge, attitude and skill maintenance, and changes in classroom practices. Participants positively received both trainings, with the UPE group qualitatively requesting additional skills to address challenging classroom situations. Trauma-informed attitudes improved immediately after the training and were sustained at a 3mo follow-up. Perceived stress, self-care uptake, prosocial classroom management techniques, exclusionary discipline, and expulsion were also improved at follow- up. These results inform policymakers that a brief, online training can reduce exclusionary discipline and is a good use of teacher time. Importantly, PEP improves aspects of the classroom environment—like teacher stress and trauma-informed attitudes—that are associated with inclusive practices. Though there were no quantitative differences between training versions, it is clear that teachers are eager for not only didactic content, but also skills, and the full PEP training is recommended for further revision and distribution in Illinois.