A Longitudinal Study of U.S. Early Childhood Education Teachers’ Psychological Well-Being Before and During COVID-19

• In Event: AERA Roundtable Session Thursday 8:00 am Four Seasons Ballroom 1
  In Roundtable Session: Health and Well-Being in Early Childhood (Table 11)

Abstract

Using longitudinal data from the National Survey on Early Care and Education, we examine changes in the psychological wellbeing of center-based ECE teachers (N=2,040) before and after the COVID- 19 pandemic. We find that the prevalence of depression increased from 8% in 2019 to 26% in early 2021 and to 28% in early 2022. Sharp increases in depressive symptomology were particularly prevalent among young, Hispanic ECE teachers, with some college or less, or worked primarily with infants and toddlers. Furthermore, the number of professional supports available to ECE teachers and feeling respected at the workplace helped mitigate depression during the pandemic. However, while encouraged teamwork was helpful prior to the pandemic, it did not alleviate psychological wellbeing during the pandemic.

Authors

• Tingting Reid, Harvard University

• Mark Murphy, University of Hawai‘i at Manoa