Meta-analysis finds coaching improves teacher practice and child outcomes in early childhood settings

This is a meta-analysis of 112 studies with 918 effect sizes examining coaching as a form of professional learning for teachers in early childhood (EC; 0-8) settings. The review synthesized effects on teacher practice and child outcomes across key content areas, including language and literacy, social-emotional and behavioral development, and science, technology, engineering, and mathematics.

The authors report positive, medium-to-large effects of EC coaching on these outcomes. No specific effect sizes, confidence intervals, or p-values are provided in the abstract. The review did not identify moderating effects of school and teacher characteristics, and found limited moderation by child characteristics.

A key limitation noted is that this meta-analysis reports associations but does not establish causation. The authors also acknowledge that results are based on pooled effect sizes without specific confidence intervals or p-values reported.

The practice relevance is that coaching is an effective form of professional learning in early childhood settings to promote teachers' use of high-quality practices and children's outcomes. However, the evidence is synthesized from existing studies and should be interpreted with caution.