The effect of improving preschool teacher/child ratios: an “experiment in nature”

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Abstract
The present study examines the effect of an improved staff ratio in New Zealand kindergartens on interactions between children and teachers. Four kindergartens which acquired a third teacher were compared with four contrast kindergartens which continued with their usual staffing of two teachers. Data were collected from each kindergarten on three occasions. Fourteen children from three‐teacher kindergartens and 21 children from two‐teacher kindergartens were observed for 30 minutes, in November before the third teacher was introduced, and in March and July after the third teacher had started working in half of the kindergartens. Staff members were also observed on the three occasions for an hour. The introduction of a third teacher was associated with a statistically significant reduction in children's negative behaviour to peers. Children played more positively with peers, talked more and interacted more with teachers after the third teacher started but these differences were not statistically significant. Teacher behaviour showed fewer changes than child behaviour after a third teacher was introduced, but teachers in third teacher kindergartens made more non‐verbal initiations to children, talked more to parents, were more involved in children's play and talked to each other more with the extra staff member. It was concluded that a third teacher did improve the quality of the preschool but that other confounding factors associated with “experiments in nature” (such as subject attrition) prevented more definitive findings.

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