Poster #185 - Predicting Pathways of Early Childhood Education Teachers' Well-Being

• In Event: 2-163 - Poster Session 08
  In Poster Session: PS 08 Section - School Readiness/Childcare

Integrative Statement

In the early childhood education (ECE) setting, teachers are the most important agent in children’s learning and socialization. ECE teachers’ beliefs about teaching practice are linked to their teaching practice in the classroom (Clarke-Stewart, Vandell, Burchinal, O’Brien, & McCartney, 2002; Forry et al., 2013; Hughes-Belding, Hegland, Stein, Sideris, & Bryant, 2012; McMullen et al., 2006) which in turn promotes children’s learning and development. In order to enhance ECE teachers’ ability to create a positive learning and social environment in the classroom, several researchers have investigated ECE teachers’ psychological (Gerber, Whitebook, & Weinstein, 2007; Hamre & Pianta, 2004; Jeon, Buettner, & Snyder, 2014; Weaver, 2002) and professional well-being (Forry et al., 2013; Ghazvini & Mullis, 2002; Whitaker, Dearth-Wesley, & Gooze, 2015), and their links to ECE teachers’ beliefs (Hur, Jeon, & Buettner, 2016) and self-efficacy (Kim & Kim, 2010). However, there is little research simultaneously examining the relationships between ECE teachers’ beliefs about children and practice, their self-efficacy in teaching, and psychological and professional well-being. It is important to understand pathways of ECE teachers’ psychological and professional well-being, which will help them enhance their teaching and interaction with children and stay in their job. The current study examines the relationships between ECE teachers’ beliefs about children and teaching practice, self-efficacy in teaching psychological (depression and coping skills), and professional well-being (job-related burnout and commitment) using structural equation modeling (see Figure 1).
Participants (N = 143) in the current study are ECE teachers in Northwestern Nevada. We obtained a complete list of ECE programs registered in Northwestern Nevada, which includes a variety of programs such as Early Head Start, Head Start, state-funded Pre-K, private, non-profit, and faith-based programs, and contacted their program directors to recruit ECE teachers for the study. With program directors’ and teachers’ permission, an online questionnaire was emailed to the ECE teachers to be completed between September 2017 and March 2018.
Bivariate correlations among the study variables are presented in Table 2. ECE teachers who endorsed developmental appropriate practices tended to have higher self-efficacy in teaching, perceived more personal accomplishment from their job, and were less depressed. ECE teachers who had high self-efficacy in teaching were more likely to have job commitment and perceive personal accomplishment from their job and were less likely to have job-related stress and burnout. ECE teachers who had higher depression were more likely to have job-related stress and burnout and less likely to perceive their personal accomplishment from work whereas those who had greater job commitment were less likely to have job-related stress and burnout and more likely to perceive personal accomplishment from work. ECE teachers’ job-related stress was positively associated with their job-related burnout but not with their personal accomplishment from work. We will examine mediation links of ECE teachers’ depression and job-commitment to the relationships between their coping skills and professional self-efficacy using M-plus. The current study will provide implications and recommendations for the ECE workforce, in-service training programs, and support systems to enhance ECE teachers’ psychological and professional well-being.

Authors

• Hyun-Joo Jeon, University of Nevada, Reno
  Presenting Author

• Christina (Nina) McCartney, University of Nevada, Reno
  Non-Presenting Author

• Sara Jo Johnson, University of Nevada, Reno
  Non-Presenting Author

• Victor Richard, University of Nevada, Reno
  Non-Presenting Author