ERIC Number: ED592766
Record Type: Non-Journal
Publication Date: 2018-Apr
Pages: 43
Abstractor: ERIC
ISBN: N/A
ISSN: ISSN-
EISSN: N/A
Available Date: N/A
Supporting the Psychological Well-Being of the Early Care and Education Workforce: Findings from the National Survey of Early Care and Education. OPRE Report 2018-49
Madill, Rebecca; Halle, Tamara; Gebhart, Tracy; Shuey, Elizabeth
Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation
While many efforts to improve the quality of early care and education (ECE) have focused on increasing teachers' and caregivers' competencies and knowledge specific to the teaching of young children, a small body of research suggests that an ECE workforce that is mentally healthy can provide the best-quality care for children. The primary research questions of this report include the following: (1) How psychologically distressed is the ECE workforce?; and (2) What "formal" and "informal" workforce supports are associated with less distress in the ECE workforce? Quality improvement efforts for ECE often focus on increasing teachers' and caregivers' competencies and knowledge specific to the teaching of young children. Now, a growing body of research suggests that supporting caregivers' psychological well-being may also be a worthy goal. This report addresses an important next step in this work: understanding the linkages between various workforce supports and teachers' psychological well-being. The findings from this report can be used to guide practices and policies in ECE programs to support teachers' psychological well-being. This report will also be helpful for researchers because it describes future studies that could be undertaken to answer remaining questions about the psychological wellbeing of the ECE workforce.
Descriptors: Early Childhood Education, Mental Health, Preschool Teachers, Stress Variables, Work Environment, Caregivers, Well Being, Teacher Characteristics, Teamwork
Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation. Administration for Children & Families, US Department of Health and Human Services, 330 C Street SW, Washington, DC 20201. Web site: https://www.acf.hhs.gov/opre
Publication Type: Reports - Research
Education Level: Early Childhood Education; Preschool Education
Audience: Researchers
Language: English
Sponsor: N/A
Authoring Institution: Administration for Children and Families (DHHS), Office of Planning, Research and Evaluation (OPRE); Child Trends
Grant or Contract Numbers: HHSP23320095631WC
Author Affiliations: N/A