A Pedagogical Intervention to Support Social and Emotional Development and Health in Early Childhood: An Intervention Mapping Approach

This thesis integrated health and educational perspectives to co-design, implement, and evaluate a pedagogical intervention that supports early childhood educators to foster children’s social and emotional skills using Intervention Mapping methodology. Program goals were established based on findings from a comprehensive needs assessment, including four systematic literature reviews and qualitative research. The Cheshire SEED Educational Program was co-designed with educators, paediatric psychologists, and researchers, and evaluated in kindergartens using a waitlist-controlled pilot study and feasibility evaluation. Broader public health implications, and the challenges and opportunities in translating evidence to practice in the early childhood sector were explored.