Teacher Wellbeing and Young Children’s Classroom Experiences: Exploring Evidence from the Early Grades

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

Teacher-child interactions are a core mechanism for children’s learning and development (Hamre, 2014; Li & Julian, 2012). A growing body of evidence has documented connections between teachers’ mental health and wellbeing and their interactions and relationships with children in their classrooms (e.g., McLean et al., 2018; Whitaker et al., 2015). Yet, questions remain about the specific contexts in which teachers’ wellbeing influences children’s classroom experiences and the strategies available to promote supportive classroom environments for teachers and young children. The COVID-19 pandemic, with its attendant threats to mental health and wellbeing among educators and children (Hanno et al., 2020; Patrick et al., 2020), has underscored the pressing need to better understand these dynamics.

The papers in this symposium build on current literature to advance the field’s understanding of linkages between teacher wellbeing and classroom experiences in the early grades. Paper 1 validates a burnout measure in a statewide sample of early educators before examining the prevalence of burnout and its association with process quality across early education settings in one state. Paper 2 shows that relationships between elementary teachers’ depressive and anxious symptoms, teacher self-efficacy, and student engagement vary across content areas. Paper 3 finds that professional development focused on social-emotional learning significantly moderates the relation between teachers’ feelings of burnout and interaction quality with children. A discussant with expertise in teacher-child relationships and classroom processes will lead a discussion about directions for future research and the practical implications of the research for supporting educators.

Sub Unit

• Education, Schooling

Chair

• Madelyn Gardner, Harvard University

Discussant

• Bridget K. Hamre

Individual Presentations

• Exploring Early Educator Burnout and its Classroom Correlates in a Statewide Sample - Presenting Author: Madelyn Gardner, Harvard University; Non-Presenting Author: Emily Hanno, MDRC (Manpower Demonstration Research Corporation) - New York City; Non-Presenting Author: Stephanie M Jones, Harvard Graduate School of Education; Non-Presenting Author: Nonie K Lesaux, Harvard Graduate School of Education

• Exploring Content-Area-Specific Impacts of Teachers’ Mental Health on Teacher and Student Outcomes in Fourth Grade - Presenting Author: Leigh McLean, Arizona State University; Non-Presenting Author: Erik Ruzek, University of Virginia; Non-Presenting Author: Jayley Janssen, Arizona State University

• Examining the Influence of SEL Interventions on the Relation Between Burnout and Teacher–child Interactions - Presenting Author: Lia Sandilos, Temple University; Non-Presenting Author: Priscilla Goble, Texas State University; Non-Presenting Author: Samantha Schwartz, Temple University