Quality of Infant Caregiving, Early Childhood Teachers’ Relational Perceptions, and Infant Classroom Characteristics

Abstract

The majority of infants in the United States are cared for outside the home by extrafamilial caregivers who often serve as secondary attachment figures. High-quality childcare is known to support infants' developmental trajectories. This exploratory study examined associations between infant teachers’ self-reported attachment-related tendencies (anxiety and avoidance), their reflective functioning, personal beliefs about infant care, classroom infant-to-teacher ratio, number of teachers in the room, and observed quality of teacher-infant interactions. The sample included 62 teachers across 35 infant classrooms in two urban areas of Mississippi and Louisiana. No consistent associations emerged between teachers’ emotional characteristics and observed interaction quality. However, moderate associations were found between teacher beliefs, structural features (e.g., ratio, number of adults), and observed quality—though often in unexpected directions. These findings raise questions about the ecological validity of self-report measures and highlight the importance of role clarity and professional development in infant classrooms. Implications for training and future research are discussed.