An ecological perspective on early educator well-being at the start of the COVID-19 pandemic

Abstract

Early educator well-being is increasingly understood as a critical ingredient of high-quality early education and care. The COVID-19 pandemic has threatened educator well-being by exacerbating existing stressors and introducing novel stressors to all aspects of early educators’ lives, and early educators have had differential access to resources to cope with these new circumstances. Using survey data collected between April and June 2020 with a sample of 666 early educators in community-based center, family child care, Head Start, and public school prekindergarten programs across Massachusetts, we document the pandemic's initial influence on educators’ sense of well-being. Adopting an ecological perspective, we consider educator-, program-, and community-level factors that may be associated with reported changes in well-being. Most educators indicated that their mental and financial well-being had been affected. These changes were not systematically associated with most contextual factors, although there was clear evidence of variability in reported impacts by provider type. These findings underscore the need to support educator well-being, as well as to create policy solutions that meet the heterogeneous needs of this essential workforce.

An investigation of Head Start preschool children's executive function, early literacy, and numeracy learning in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic

“…Such conditions could also have harmed children's executive functioning outcomes, which are sensitive to access to high-quality instructional interactions (Fuhs et al, 2018). One signal of the potential for social-behavioral setbacks due to the pandemic is that parents reported worsened home behaviors during remote learning ( Hanno et al, 2022 ).…”

School counselors’ perceived school climate, leadership practice, psychological empowerment, and multicultural competence before and during COVID‐19

“…For example, in a systematic review of the effects of COVID-19 pandemic on K-12 education, Huck and Zhang (2021) found that teachers' professional job functions (e.g., lesson planning, assessment) were more challenging in a remote environment, especially having little to no preparation with remote teaching. In another study, Hanno et al (2022) investigated the effects of COVID-19 on educator well-being among a sample of 666 early educators. Not surprisingly, the majority of participants indicated that COVID-19 adversely impacted their mental well-being, approximately half noted its negative impact on their financial well-being, and a quarter of participants reported the influence of the pandemic on their physical well-being.…”

“…Coupled with these measures were disruptions of school functionality, namely since the outbreak of the pandemic, students transitioned from fully virtual, to hybrid, and then back to in person learning (Savitz‐Romer et al., 2021). A large body of literature has documented a spectrum of concerns directly linked to COVID‐19 on educators such as mental and financial well‐being, psychological functioning, challenges with practice (e.g., struggling with online teaching), and strategies to support parental involvement (e.g., Hanno et al., 2022; Huck & Zhang, 2021). For example, in a systematic review of the effects of COVID‐19 pandemic on K‐12 education, Huck and Zhang (2021) found that teachers’ professional job functions (e.g., lesson planning, assessment) were more challenging in a remote environment, especially having little to no preparation with remote teaching.…”

“…In another study, Hanno et al. (2022) investigated the effects of COVID‐19 on educator well‐being among a sample of 666 early educators. Not surprisingly, the majority of participants indicated that COVID‐19 adversely impacted their mental well‐being, approximately half noted its negative impact on their financial well‐being, and a quarter of participants reported the influence of the pandemic on their physical well‐being.…”

Implementation of Islamic Religious Education Learning and Character in the New Normal Era

“…Thus, the health and safety of all citizens of the education unit is a top priority that must be considered in setting PTM policies during the Covid-19 pandemic. Therefore, the education unit prepares alternative PTM by continuing to apply the health protocol and PJJ so that parents/guardians of students can choose PTM or PJJ for their children (Hanno, Gardner, Jones, & Lesaux, 2022).…”