Hispanic Pre-K Teacher Stress and Lived Experiences: A Comparative Case-Study Along the U.S.-Mexico Border

• In Event: Voices and Diverse Experiences of Early Childhood Educators

Abstract

Three Hispanic PreKindergarten teachers in one independent school district along the U.S.-Mexico border were recruited to comprehensively examine stress and lived experiences. Connecting theories of ecological systems and Familismo, a protective factor within Hispanic culture, we interrogated how stress was particularly pernicious to participants. This study collected and analyzed quantitative (i.e., survey, hair cortisol concentration) and qualitative (i.e., interview) data, asking 1) What were the characterizations of ECCE teachers’ physiological stress, 2) What were teachers’ lived experiences, and 3) How did teachers make meaning of their work in the ECCE context? Results confirmed extant teacher stress sources; further revealing administrators as problematic with regard to at-school Familismo. This nuance highlights a duality positioning Hispanic teachers in intensified states of stress.

Authors

• Cynthia Arraya Wiltshire, University of Texas - El Paso

• Mayew Yuremi, University of Texas - El Paso

• Amanda M. Dettmer, Yale University

• Sanga Kim, University of Houston