There’s No One to Take Care of Us: The Importance of Teacher Emotional Well-being

Session Type: Paper Symposium

Abstract

This session will bring together four researchers all working to explore, evaluate, and improve the well-being of early care and education (ECE) teachers. This session will build upon the foundation laid out in the 2015 publication, Transforming the Workforce for Children Birth Through Age Eight: A Unifying Foundation, which highlights the importance of teacher well-being and the implications it has for children, as well as the necessary related systems change. While the COVID-19 pandemic has highlighted the importance of teacher well-being, this topic should always be at the forefront of conversations about strengthening the ECE workforce and child development.

The first researcher will present the results from teacher interviews collected with NYC preschool teachers one week after COVID-19 sent the city into lockdown; she will use the five awarenesses of teaching as the framework for understanding teacher well-being and emotional competency. The second researcher will present data collected from first grade teachers during the 2019-2020 school year, exploring the prevalence of stressors known to influence ECE classroom quality. The third researcher will present data collected via survey on the early childhood workforce in New York State, calling attention to the need for systemic approaches to supporting early educators’ well-being. The fourth researcher will describe the factors that influence male early childhood educators’ emotional well-being. Each researcher will conclude with implications for future work.

The panel is enriched by including perspectives from researchers representing diverse racial/ethnic/ cultural/ linguistic backgrounds, as well as varied professional experiences of being teachers, faculty, and researchers.

Sub Unit

• School Readiness/Childcare

Chairs

• Andrea Kent, Foundation for Child Development

• Amanda Moreno, Erikson Institute

Individual Presentations

• Understanding the Whole Teacher using the Five Awarenesses of Teaching Framework - Presenting Author: Vanessa Rodriguez, NYU Grossman School of Medicine; Non-Presenting Author: Natalia Rojas, New York University School of Medicine; Non-Presenting Author: Ayesha Rabadi-Raol, Sonoma State University; Non-Presenting Author: Mariana Souto-Manning, Teachers College, Columbia University; Non-Presenting Author: Laurie Brotman, NYU Langone

• The Mental, Economic, and Job Wellbeing of 1st Grade Teachers Serving Low-Income Students in Tulsa - Presenting Author: Anna D. Johnson, Georgetown University; Non-Presenting Author: Deborah A Phillips, Georgetown University; Non-Presenting Author: Anne Partika, Georgetown University; Non-Presenting Author: Anne Martin, Georgetown University; Non-Presenting Author: Sherri L Castle, University of Oklahoma

• There’s no one to take care of us”: Reorienting Systems for Early Childhood Educators’ Well-Being - Presenting Author: Mark Nagasawa, Bank Street College of Education; Non-Presenting Author: Kate Tarrant, City University of New York

• Assuring the Wellbeing and Livelihoods of ECE Men during and beyond the COVID-19 Pandemic: Linking Research, Practice, and Policy - Presenting Author: Jean Yves Plaisir, City University of New York Borough of Manhattan Community College; Non-Presenting Author: Kristen Cole, Borough of Manhattan Community College; Non-Presenting Author: Mindi Reich-Shapiro, Borough of Manhattan Community College, CUNY