55 EffectiveInteractions (EI) Adult-Child, Child-Adult & Child-Child Rationale Relationships between caring adults and children and among children create the context for healthy social and emotional development. Developmental and educational research has suggested that efforts to promote children’s school readiness should focus on supporting their social-emotional development as well as their cognitive development. Interactions and guidance are a fundamental part of the learning environment and curricula. Whether children’s development is supported or compromised by these relationships is determined in large part by the quality of their social-emotional experiences and the role played by early childhood professionals. It is vital that professionals understand the principles and practices that promote a psychologically safe and secure environment where prosocial behavior is modeled and encouraged, where conflict resolution and problem solving skills are taught, and where a sense of community for children and families is fostered. Core Knowledge Components Building on an understanding of how children grow and develop, early childhood professionals in all types of programs establish positive interactions with children and families and embrace best practices in five key areas: Relationships – They create positive and nurturing relationships with respect, psychological safety and attachment, respectful voice tones, and trust, respecting diversity and accepting individual differences. Indicates term defined in the glossary the first time it appears in the document. Interactions for Learning – They use effective questioning and interaction strategies and quality feedback to extend children’s learning and development. Group Interactions – They understand group process and structure and practice effective classroommanagement. Communication – They establish a calm, unhurried atmosphere, engage in various forms of communication, listen attentively, and use verbal and non-verbal expression and oral communication strategies. Guidance – They provide guidance through expectations for behavior and respectful interactions. The nurture autonomy, self- regulation and prosocial skills. They manage schedules and transitions, address challenging behaviors, and engage in conflict resolution. Interactions with Families – They build positive and reciprocal partnerships with families in order to facilitate deeper understanding of values and needs. Core Knowledge Competencies The competencies and indicators on the following pages specify how the specific knowledge, behaviors and practices are demonstrated by early childhood professionals across five levels of proficiency that follow a progression of knowledge, skills and abilities. The levels build on one another, with the belief that a person working on competencies at Level III has already achieved most or all of the competencies at Level I and II.