Child Care and Early Education Research Connections

Skip to main content

Exploring early educator burnout and process quality in a statewide sample

Description:

Building on literature linking educators’ psychosocial well-being to early education and care quality, this study analyzed early educators’ (N = 648) reports of burnout across a range of group[1]based care types in one state and examined the relation of burnout to setting quality. Confirmatory factor analysis showed the burnout measure, a self-reported emotional exhaustion scale, had a one-factor structure and adequate internal consistency among educators working in a range of early education and care settings. Measured by the scale, educators on average reported infrequent feelings of burnout. There were small but statistically significant differences in burnout scores by setting type, with Head Start educators on average reporting modestly more frequent burnout symptoms than educators in community-based centers (β = 0.29, b = 0.30, SE = 0.13, p = 0.014) or family childcare settings (β = 0.57, b = 0.60, SE = 0.14, p < 0.001). Only one significant association was observed between educators’ self-reported burnout scores and setting quality after accounting for educator and setting characteristics: a negative association with child involvement (β = − 0.09, b = − 0.04, SE = 0.02, p = 0.03). These findings contribute to the field’s understanding of burnout as a component of educator well-being and provide initial insight about targeting supports to improve educator well-being. (author abstract)

Resource Type:
Reports & Papers
Country:
United States
State(s)/Territories/Tribal Nation(s):
Massachusetts

Related resources include summaries, versions, measures (instruments), or other resources in which the current document plays a part. Research products funded by the Office of Planning, Research, and Evaluation are related to their project records.

- You May Also Like

These resources share similarities with the current selection.

Early care and education research resources: Workforce well-being and retention (annotated version)

Bibliographies

Early care and education research resources: Workforce well-being and retention

Bibliographies

Linking mental health and child care and early education services: A Key Topic Resource List

Bibliographies
Release: 'v1.71.0' | Built: 2024-05-10 23:50:28 EDT