Designing Multifaceted Learning Environments to Promote Early Childhood Educators’ Holistic Wellness

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Sunday 11:40 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Innovative Pathways to Equity and Engagement: Transforming Learning Across Informal Contexts (Table 9)

Abstract

While most research on informal learning focused on learners as learners, increasing attention has also been paid to teachers as learners because teachers often develop their competency through learning informally. Given the importance of early care and education (ECE) educators’ well-being, we posit ECE educators, specifically Head Start (HS) educators, as learners who would learn about their own and children’s wellness. We designed an intervention utilizing various elements across the personal, sociocultural, and physical contexts (e.g., wearable devices, online modules, coaching, and a dedicated space for wellness) as a multifaceted learning environment. Our preliminary findings from qualitative analysis of post-intervention group-interviews show three different themes of how HS educators learned about wellness during the intervention.

Authors

• Yong Ju Jung, University of Oklahoma

• Kyong-Ah Kwon, University of Oklahoma

• Timothy G. Ford, University of Oklahoma

• Brenda Lloyd-Jones, University of Oklahoma

• Mia Kile, University of Oklahoma

• Carolyn Cheema, University of Oklahoma Health Sciences Center

• Junghyun Min, University of Oklahoma