| Summary: | The primary aim of this research was to describe the implementation of the Safe Spaces program
across child care settings. The Safe Spaces program is a universal primary preventive program
designed to foster preschool-aged children's emotional and social competence via a series of
lessons that teach children emotional understanding and prosocial behaviours. The program was
piloted in one child care centre in 2001 and is currently being implemented in over 50 child care
settings across British Columbia, Canada. Although the Safe Spaces program has anecdotal
evidence suggesting positive outcomes, little is known about whether or not the program is being
implemented as intended across different child care settings and how child care centre
characteristics, including early childhood educators' beliefs and experiences, might influence
program implementation. Accordingly, 10 Early Childhood Educators (ECEs) drawn from five
child care centres implementing the Safe Spaces program were asked to provide information via
a series of questionnaires, interviews, and implementation record logs about the implementation
of the Safe Spaces program in each of their centres. Results revealed high implementation (i.e.,
program adherence, extent to which specific program components are delivered as prescribed in
program manuals and dosage, the frequency with which program techniques are implemented) of
the Safe Spaces program across centres. Despite these reports, educators revealed that centre,
child, and implementers' characteristics were related to the adoption and implementation of the
program. Challenges and successes help identify recommendations for future implementation. === Education, Faculty of === Educational and Counselling Psychology, and Special Education (ECPS), Department of === Graduate
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