Administrative Work Climate and its Relationship to Global Classroom Learning Environment

Early childhood center directors have a large measure of influence on the administrative work climate experienced by staff teachers. One specific way in which a center director has an effect on staff teachers is through the promotion of an administrative work climate that embodies a culture of learning (Bloom & Sheerer, 1992; Carter & Curtis, 2010; Quinn, 2002). As teachers acquire professional development as a result of the culture of learning, the impact on classroom environment and teacher-child interaction can be measured through the use of environmental and interaction assessments (Bloom & Sheerer, 1992; Coldren & Spillane, 2007; Quinn, 2002). Because high quality classroom environments and positive teacher-child interactions have been shown to positively correlate with child outcomes (Lower & Cassidy, 2009; Mims et al., 2009), it is important to understand if the administrative work climate is correlated to the quality of the environment or teacher-child interaction in an effort to determine if the director through the development of the administrative work climate has an indirect influence on child outcomes. This study explores the relationship between center administrative work climate, teacher-child interactions, as well as the relationship between center administrative work climate and classroom learning environments. Scores on the AWC (administrative work climate), CLASS (teacher-child interaction), and ITERS-R and ECERS-R (classroom learning environment) for 12 early childhood centers (comprising 40 classrooms) were correlated using a Pearson product-moment to investigate the relationships between administrative work climate, teacher-child interactions, and classroom learning environment. The results of this study showed that teacher-child interactions and classroom learning environment can be influenced by administrative work climate. Specifically, provision of staff orientation and scheduling showed statistically significant correlations with space and furnishings, personal care routines, classroom organization and instructional support.