All articles

The article is devoted to the description of CLASS observation methodology, developed for the analysis and evaluation of interaction between the teacher and children in the kindergarten group. There are three main areas and criteria for evaluation of this tool: emotional support, organization of work in a group and methodological support. The article reviews studies carried out during past 20 years. Research show the impact of the criteria identified in this methodology or the overall level of pedagogical skill measured using the CLASS methodology on the cognitive, regulatory and emotional-personal development of preschool children. The analysis shows the importance of assessing the interaction of the teacher with children in pre-school institutions for scientific and practical research in the field of preschool education and development, and also shows the possibilities of using this tool to assess the quality of education in Russia.

Background. Teachers play a crucial role in the development of preschoolers’ personalities. However, their professional work is associated with emotional intensity, multitasking, and increased responsibility, which creates the preconditions for the development of burnout. High levels of teacher burnout negatively impact the quality of interactions with children, their motivation, and initiative, while insufficient interaction competence, in turn, can exacerbate burnout. This indicates the need for a systematic study of factors predicting increased burnout.

Objective. To identify relationships between professional burnout, burnout factors, and the quality of interactions between teachers and children in kindergarten groups.

Sample. The sample consisted of 25 teachers (M = 43.3, SD = 10.1, 100% women) working in senior and preparatory groups of kindergartens.

Methods. The CLASS method (adapted by Bukhalenkova and Almazova) was used to assess the quality of interactions. Professional burnout was diagnosed using the Maslach Burnout Inventory (adapted by Vodopyanova and Starchenkova). A sociodemographic questionnaire was also administered. Descriptive statistics and correlation analysis (Spearman rho) were used to analyze the data.

Results. High depersonalization scores were found to be associated with shorter teacher tenure. No significant associations were found between burnout symptoms and interaction quality, age, education level, qualification category, or the number of children in the group. Additional analysis revealed a trend: when interaction quality was low, teachers more often chose midpoints on the burnout scales, which may indicate the influence of social desirability when questionnaires were completed anonymously.

Conclusions. A direct link between professional burnout and interaction quality was not confirmed in this study. The findings highlight the methodological challenges of studying burnout using self-report methods in settings where complete anonymity is not guaranteed. Further research with larger samples and procedures that minimize the influence of social desirability is needed.