Using an Explanatory Sequential Design to Understand Early Childhood Special Education Teacher Well-Being

• In Event: New Uses and Settings for Mixed- and Multimethod Research

Abstract

The integration of quantitative and qualitative analysis provides an opportunity to understand the connection between teacher retention and teacher well-being. Integration, a foundation to mixed methods research, can be applied to understand complex issues in education. Using an explanatory sequential mixed methods design, this study applies latent class analysis (LCA)
to identify profiles of early childhood special education teacher well-being (ECSE), followed by semi-structured interviews to understand experiences among the different profiles. Integrated quantitative and qualitative results offer an example of integration and provide insights into ECSE teacher well-being by considering confirmations and discrepancies across the analytic approaches. Implications for research design and the expansion of mixed methods research, as well as for ECSE teacher well-being are discussed.

Authors

• Heather Walter, George Mason University

• Lionel Howard, The George Washington University

• Beth Tuckwiller, The George Washington University

• Elisabeth Kutscher, The George Washington University

• Harriet Fox, The George Washington University