Early Childhood Teachers’ Use of Discipline Practices and Social Emotional Supports

There has been increased attention on teachers’ use of exclusionary discipline with the youngest learners in elementary schools; however, little is known about early childhood teachers’ use of particular discipline practices and social emotional supports. The present study reports results from a survey of 936 teachers working in elementary schools in preschool through second grade classrooms regarding their use of discipline practices and social emotional supports. We found that teachers across grade levels used several positive social emotional teaching supports and overall reported a low use of harsh discipline practices such as suspension and expulsion. However, teachers reported using some exclusionary discipline practices, such as timeout, especially in kindergarten. Several social emotional supports were not well-utilized especially in early elementary grades. Findings are discussed in the context of supporting teachers to use recommended and supportive practices with young children across the early grades.