This study analyzes the role of positive parenting, encompassing affection, responsiveness, encouragement, and teaching, on 79 children’s negativity aged 10 to 24 months during interactions with their adolescent mothers (aged 15 to 21). Parenting behaviors were evaluated using the Spanish version of the Parenting Interactions with Children: Checklist of Observations Linked to Outcomes (PICCOLO). Maternal well-being was assessed using the Spanish version of the Hospital Anxiety and Depression Scale (HADS). At the same time, the Ages and Stages Questionnaire-Socioemotional Development (ASQ-SE) measured mothers’ perceptions of their children’s socioemotional development. Children’s negativity was assessed using the Subscale of Negativity from the Early Head Start Research and Evaluation Project (EHSREP Negativity Subscale). Bivariate analysis revealed a significant association between maternal affection, responsiveness, encouragement, higher maternal anxiety, and maternal perceptions of their children’s socioemotional development with children’s negativity regarding anger, hostility, or dislike toward their mothers during interaction. Moreover, multivariate regression analysis showed that maternal affection, responsiveness, anxiety, and perceptions of children’s socioemotional development could predict negativity. The study underscores the significance of positive parenting, maternal well-being, and perceptions of children’s socioemotional development to prevent high levels of children’s negativity.

Initial Teacher Training (ITT) in Early Childhood Education is a key aspect of the education system, requiring high-quality specialization focused on the holistic development of early childhood. In this context, promoting a critical understanding of pedagogy and recognizing its non-neutral nature is crucial in the training of future early childhood educators, acknowledging its ethical, political, and epistemological dimensions. However, the profession suffers from a high level of social devaluation, hindering the recognition of its pedagogical character. From this perspective, the objective of this study was to analyze how students pursuing an online degree in Early Childhood Education at a Chilean university interpret and elaborate on the concept of the non-neutrality of pedagogy, considering its ethical, political, and epistemological dimensions, after a reflective training experience. This study employs a qualitative approach with a descriptive-interpretive design. The unit of analysis consisted of 58 students enrolled in an online Early Childhood Education program at a Chilean university. Data were collected through an online questionnaire with open-ended questions, administered after the students participated in an academic forum reflecting on the ethical, political, and epistemological dimensions of pedagogy. The data were analyzed using thematic analysis with axial coding. The findings of this study show that epistemological, ethical, and political dimensions constitute the main reference points from which the students perceive and interpret that pedagogy cannot be neutral, since it is mediated by values, beliefs, and ideological positions that impact pedagogical decisions. The study concludes that recognizing the non-neutrality of pedagogy, acknowledging that teachers’ decisions are mediated by values, beliefs, and positions that guide educational practice, is crucial.