The being together intervention intends to raise teacher capacity in
Norwegian Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) institutions and promote
social and emotional development in preschoolers by implementing an authoritative
(warm and predictable) adult style in the institution. An authoritative adult balances
between building up high quality interactions with children, while at the same time
having a predictable structure with clear norms and social expectations in the
learning environment. The purpose of this study was to investigate what helped the
ECEC institutions to successfully implement the program principles and core
components, and what were the challenges. The staff groups of seven Norwegian
ECEC institutions in different municipalities who took part in the innovation were
interviewed at the beginning and before the end of the first year of implementation.
Data analysis identified five success criteria in the implementation process; strong
commitment to the authoritative adult style, strong focus on the implementation
process, advanced support systems, highly involved leaders, and a collective orientation.
These elements resulted in a shared vision and an academically grounded
practice in the ECEC institutions. Staff members without formal professional
training and a lack of written documentation in the ECEC institutions should be
given more consideration in further improvement of the capacity building.

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• Creating teacher capacity in Early Childhood Education and Care institutions implementing an authoritative adult style