The paper “Teacher-child relationships, early childhood programme quality and early learning in two-year-old toddlers,” completed by Dr. Zhong Miao, a lecturer at the Faculty of Psychology of Tianjin Normal University, has been published in Learning and Instruction. Associate Professor Siu Tik-Sze Carrey from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand, serves as the corresponding author. Co-authors include Associate Professor Cheung Sum-Swing and Dr. Caldwell Melissa Pearl from the Education University of Hong Kong,as well as Adjunct Professor Cheung Him from the University of Canterbury, New Zealand.

Against the backdrop of growing societal demand for early childcare services, promoting the learning and development of infants and toddlers (0–3years old) in Early Childhood Care and Education (ECCE) institutions has become a critical issue. While most empirical studies have focused on preschool-aged children (3–6 years old), research on the pivotal developmental period of two-year-olds remains scarce. This study aims to systematically investigate how ECCE program quality and teacher-child relationships interact to predict early developmental outcomes in language, literacy, and numeracy among two-year-olds. The research recruited 128 toddlers (averaging 33.11 months old) and their lead teachers from 10 kindergartens in the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region. Using a longitudinal design, it measured teacher-child relationships, ECCE program quality, and early learning abilities across three time points. Data on child development were collected through standardized tests, classroom quality was assessed using the observational tool "Teacher Behavior Performance," and teacher-child relationships were evaluated via teacher self-reports based on a relational scale.

The results demonstrated that high-quality ECCE programs and close teacher-child relationships significantly and positively predicted toddlers' early learning abilities, whereas conflictual teacher-child relationships showed no statistically significant impact on learning outcomes. Furthermore, the study revealed that ECCE program quality served as a crucial mediator between close teacher-child relationships and language ability improvements measured over a three-month period.

This study innovatively integrates relational and classroom environmental factors into a unified theoretical framework, highlighting the pivotal role of teachers' educational practices in attachment mechanisms. Close teacher-child relationships not only directly benefit children but also motivate teachers to engage in higher-quality educational behaviors, thereby further fostering early learning and development. Additionally, conducted within the context of Hong Kong society, this research provides valuable evidence for understanding how relationship-based curricula and pedagogy support young children's learning in East Asian contexts.

By He Jierui