Early Childhood Educators’ Emotional Labor and Well-Being

• In Event: Poster Session 10
  In Poster Session: Issues in Early Education and Child Development

Abstract

This paper draws data from a larger longitudinal, concurrent mixed methods study focused on early childhood educators’ emotional labor and psychological, physical and financial well-being and how these shape teacher sensitivity with children and their families. In this paper we present findings from the qualitative component of this larger study, including 40 in-depth interviews with early childhood educators. These data detail how early childhood educators define and describe the construct of emotional labor and how this shapes their well-being. As such, these findings offer insight into emotional labor and early childhood educator well-being as potential levers for shaping children’s academic and developmental outcomes as well as families’ development and engagement.

Authors

• Elizabeth Levine Brown, George Mason University

• Colleen Vesely, George Mason University

• Nicole M Togno, George Mason University