Examining the effectiveness of professional development workshops in increasing knowledge of early relational health in the early childhood workforce

Nurturing and responsive relationships between young children and their caregivers have been found to enhance the well-being of both children and adult caregivers. This study examines the effectiveness of a relationship-based professional development curriculum in increasing the foundational knowledge of early relational health in the early childhood workforce. A total of 326 early childhood professionals participated in a series of seven workshops and completed pre- and post-knowledge assessments. We found that participation increased early relational health knowledge. This increase was seen across a wide variety of participants, with no differences found in relation to participant profession, years of experience, education levels, age, or race. A similar increase was seen when workshops were delivered in different languages (English and Spanish) and in different formats (online and in-person). Participants who took the workshops in the suggested sequence had higher levels of knowledge retention, suggesting there are benefits to ongoing, scaffolded, structured professional development in the area of early relational health. Implications of these findings are discussed.