Analysis of Chinese Preschool Teachers’ Behavior Management Strategies During Routine Care Activities

The purpose of this study was to investigate current Chinese preschool teachers’ use of behavior management (BM) strategies in preschool classrooms during the challenging juncture of routine care and their impact on children's behavior performances, as well as the features of high-quality BM. Using a stratified, random sampling procedure from data collected as part of a large, longitudinal study in the Guangdong province of China, 37 teachers agreed to participate. While preschools from high to low SES were invited, 18 teachers in high SES and 19 teachers in low SES regions provided consent to participate, resulting in a total sample of 37 teachers. Both quantitative methods and descriptive statistics were employed through CLASS to analyze teachers' use of BM strategies and possible associations with children's behavioral performances. Findings showed that teachers generally missed opportunities to use high-quality strategies. Features of strategies were identified in this study that were used only to control children's behaviors and to elicit children's situational compliance instead of eliciting their receptive compliance. Results also revealed that most Chinese preschools were generally highly controlled environments. Realizing the need for children in preschool classrooms to establish early and positive behavioral habits as imperative, the results of this study point to necessary professional development to become more intentional in using effective behavior management strategies, such as clear behavioral expectations, proactive strategies, and correction of misbehavior, during routine care activities to meet children's behavioral needs and encourage receptive compliance.