Abstract
Teaching is often described as one of the most stressful occupations, contributing to the high rates of turnover and burnout afflicting the field. Early childhood teachers, especially those who teach outside of the public school system at the pre-kindergarten level, are at particular risk for a low sense of well-being. With a focus on teachers of children from birth to age 5, this chapter defines teacher well-being, identifies influences on teacher well-being, and discusses ways in which a teacher's well-being impacts the young children in their classroom. In addition, the authors describe a preschool teacher well-being initiative that is currently being implemented in South Carolina, the Be Well Care Well project. This chapter includes a detailed description of the Be Well Care Well model, shares initial program evaluation and impact data, and provides recommendations based on the implementation of the project thus far. Future directions for policy, practice, and research are discussed.
TopDefining Teacher Well-Being
Teacher well-being can be challenging to define due to its complex individual, multidimensional, and cultural nature (LaPlaca et al., 2013; MCallum et al., 2017). In other words, it can be difficult to determine exactly which factors have the most impact on which teachers. Acton and Glasgow’s (2015) definition of teacher well-being as an individual’s sense of professional fulfillment, satisfaction, purposefulness, and happiness is fitting because it acknowledges the nuanced contributions of each teacher’s culture, circumstances, preferences, and needs. Throughout this chapter, the authors utilize a ‘whole teacher well-being’ framework as put forth by Kwon et al. (2021), which encompasses and integrates teachers’ professional, psychological, and physical well-being.
Key Terms in this Chapter
Whole Teacher Well-Being: A holistic conceptual model of early childhood teacher well-being put forth by Kwon et al. (2021) AU86: The citation "Kwon et al. (2021)" matches multiple references. Please add letters (e.g. "Smith 2000a"), or additional authors to the citation, to uniquely match references and citations. .
Early Childhood Teacher: An individual who works in an early care and education setting serving young children from birth to age eight.
Burnout: Feelings of low energy, negativism, cynicism, or mental distance from one’s job (World Health Organization).
Infant and Early Childhood Mental Health Consultation: A service that prepares adults to support healthy social and emotional development in infants and young children.
Teacher Turnover: When a teacher leaves a school or program.
Be Well Care Well: An initiative that originated in South Carolina to promote and support the well-being of early care and education providers in childcare programs.
Reflective Supervision: A supervisor-supervisee relationship that pays attention to the influence of relationships on other relationships, the parallel process, and empowers the supervisee to discover solutions/concepts through consciously using strategies that include active listening and waiting (Zero to Three).
Resiliency: The capacity to recover from difficulties; strength.