RESEARCH REPORT Associations between Early Care and ...

CHILDREN

RESEARCH REPORT

Associations between Early Care and Education Teacher Characteristics and Observed Classroom Processes

Strengthening the Diversity and Quality of the Early Care and Education Workforce Paper Series

Anna D. Johnson

Anne Partika

Owen Schochet

Sherri Castle

GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY GEORGETOWN UNIVERSITY UNIVERSITY OF OKLAHOMA

October 2019

ABOUT THE URBAN INSTITUTE The nonprofit Urban Institute is a leading research organization dedicated to developing evidence-based insights that improve people's lives and strengthen communities. For 50 years, Urban has been the trusted source for rigorous analysis of complex social and economic issues; strategic advice to policymakers, philanthropists, and practitioners; and new, promising ideas that expand opportunities for all. Our work inspires effective decisions that advance fairness and enhance the well-being of people and places.

Copyright ? October 2019. Urban Institute. Permission is granted for reproduction of this file, with attribution to the Urban Institute. Cover image by Monkey Business Images/Shutterstock.

Contents

Acknowledgments

iv

Executive Summary

v

Associations between ECE Teacher Characteristics and Observed Classroom Processes 1

Data

3

Where Do the Data Come From?

3

Sample

3

Key Measures

5

Results

9

Describing the Teachers in Our Study

9

How Do Teacher Supports Predict Observational Measures of Classroom Quality?

10

How Do Teacher Personal Experiences Predict Observational Measures of Classroom

Quality?

11

How Does Teacher Well-Being Predict Observational Measures of Classroom Quality?

11

Discussion

12

Summary of Results

12

Limitations

14

Implications for Policy, Practice, and Future Research

15

Appendix. Methods

18

Sampling Strategy

18

Measures

19

Teacher Supports, Experiences, and Well-Being

19

Classroom Quality

21

Notes

23

References

24

About the Authors

27

Statement of Independence

28

Acknowledgments

The writing and editing of this report was funded by the Foundation for Child Development. We acknowledge generous funding from the Heising-Simons Foundation, the George Kaiser Family Foundation, the Spencer Foundation, and the Foundation for Child Development, all of which supported components of this study. Finally, we are deeply grateful to the Tulsa Public Schools (TPS) district, Head Start, Educare, and charter school teachers who participated in our study.

This research is the product of a collaboration between Anna D. Johnson and Deborah A. Phillips at Georgetown University, Diane Horm at The University of Oklahoma?Tulsa, and Gigi Luk at McGill University. We thank Deborah Gist and Paula Shannon in the TPS district, Cindy Decker and Stephen Dow at CAP?Tulsa Head Start, and Caren Calhoun at Tulsa Educare for their partnership in this research project.

The views expressed are those of the authors and should not be attributed to the Urban Institute, its trustees, or its funders. Any errors in this manuscript are the responsibility of Anna Johnson. Further information on the Urban Institute's funding principles is available at fundingprinciples.

IV

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

Executive Summary

The early care and education (ECE) research field has a long tradition of studying ECE teacher characteristics as policy-amenable features of classroom quality. The most frequently and longest studied ECE teacher characteristics are their qualifications--specifically education level, certification, and years of experience. Yet recent research suggests that interactions between ECE teachers and children are more predictive of children's developmental outcomes than teacher education and credentials (Early et al. 2007; Hamre 2014).

This study dives into an underexplored set of teacher characteristics that likely shape the ways teachers interact with children. Rather than focusing on more distal teacher characteristics like education and certification, this study hones in on a range of proximal features, such as the workplace supports teachers have available, their personal experiences and challenges, and their physical and mental well-being, to understand whether and how these characteristics relate to the classroom quality dimensions that research has identified as most important for children's early learning.

We focus on teacher characteristics that are theoretically or empirically linked to classroom processes and that are amenable to policy or program intervention. Specific characteristics of interest fall into three categories listed below:

Teacher supports

? Supports in the workplace for teacher economic well-being and mental and physical

wellness

? Quality of workplace life and teamwork among colleagues ? Opportunities and support in the workplace for teachers to try new teaching approaches ? Family provision of emotional and instrumental support for the teacher

Teacher experiences

? Teachers' own adverse childhood experiences (ACEs), including exposure to violence and

parental absence

? Teacher report of current degree of household chaos ? Recent experience of household food insecurity ? Working another job ? Receiving public benefits

EXECUTIVE SUMMARY

V

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