DPP Preschool Educator Well-Being Brief

Denver Preschool Program

Educator Well-Being Evaluators from the Butler Institute for Families at the University of Denver explored Denver Preschool Program (DPP) educators’ physical and psychological well-being. Evaluators surveyed 410 educators in fall 2022 and interviewed 14 educators in spring 2023.

Evaluators asked educators about their job burnout and stress, including the supports and self-care practices they used to reduce the impact of burnout and stress.

Job Burnout and Stress Evaluators asked educators how often they experienced jobrelated stress and burnout, including physical or emotional exhaustion or lack of motivation. Overall, educators indicated feeling symptoms of burnout between once a month and a few times a month (M=3.67), and the most common symptoms they experienced were fatigue and feeling emotionally drained. Figure 1 shows educators’ average frequency of burnout symptoms.

Figure 1. Frequency of Educators’ Feelings of Burnout (n = 389-395) 4.45

I feel fatigued when I get up in the morning.

4.3

I feel emotionally drained from my work.

I feel burned out from my work.

3.78

I feel I'm working too hard on my job.

3.73 3.51

I feel frustrated by my job.

3.24

Working with people all day is really straining for me.

2.67

I feel like I'm at the end of my rope.

1

2

Never

A Few Times a Year

3

4

5

6

7

Once a Month or Less

A Few Times a Month

Once a Week

A Few Times a Week

Every Day

Additionally, almost three-quarters of educators (71%) reported that they sometimes, often, or very often didn’t have enough energy to spend time with their families. About half of educators (47%) also reported experiencing work-related pain or discomfort in the past.

Teachers’ job stress was positively associated with their burnout, meaning that the higher an educator’s job stress was, the higher their burnout was.

Self-Care Practices To combat stress and burnout, educators engaged in personal (see Table 1) and professional self-care practices (see Table 2).

Teachers’ most common job stressors: • • •

Buying supplies for children using their own money Regularly working overtime or extra hours Feeling pulled between the demands of their job and the needs of their own children

Table 1: Personal Self-Care Practices Educators’ Used Most and Least Often Most Used Personal Self-Care Practices

Least Used Personal Self-Care Practices

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Laughing

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Accepting help from others

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Physical affection like hugs

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Getting enough sleep

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Spending quality time with people they care about

Many educators who said that they were never able to engage in professional self-care at work cited lack of time and coverage as primary reasons. One educator mentioned, “I don't get breaks throughout the day, and I rarely get the full 30 minutes for my lunches. We are too short staffed in ECE for anyone within the department to support breaks, and our lunch times are often cut into based on where other staff needs to be.”

Table 2: Professional Self-Care Practices Educators’ Used Most and Least Often Most Used Professional Self-Care Practices

Least Used Professional Self-Care Practices

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Problem-solving when challenges arise at work

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Taking small breaks throughout the workday

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Seeking out supportive colleagues

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Acknowledging personal success at work

Attending to feelings of being overwhelmed with their work

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Being able to say “no” when appropriate

On the survey, educators also emphasized that child-to-staff ratios impacted their ability to practice self-care. The average ratio across all classrooms was one educator to seven children: The minimum ratio was about two educators to every one child and the maximum was one educator to every 20 children. One DPP educator shared:

“

Adding in extra students this year without any extra supports for the teachers or paras is exhausting. Just trying to stay in ratio is extremely difficult and being in a building full of students there are very few staff members available to support us when we are trying to meet our needs or the needs of students. I love what I do and the people I work with.

Up until this year, I strongly believed I'd like to pursue my master’s in ECE and take a lead teacher position. However, even though we have fewer behaviors this year than last, the support we are receiving is so greatly reduced I'm hesitant to even continue in ECE next year.”

Reasons for not engaging in professional self care: • • • •

Lack of time at work Lack of staff/coverage at work High child-to-staff ratios Negative workplace culture not supportive of self-care practices

Educators appreciated their coteachers and supportive administrators who offered to cover their classroom so they could take a break. Some educators, however, felt like their workplace environment and leadership were not very supportive of their self-care. Only 57% of educators surveyed agreed that the policies at their workplace were flexible enough to meet different employees’ personal and family needs. One educator explained staff at their school “feel like they can’t ask [for a break] because then they’re burdening someone else” and wished for “a more positive culture where it feels a little more accepted to ask for a break.”

Staff must have the time to take care of themselves. One educator frankly said, “Breaks and lunches are a human need. It should be normal that everyone deserves a lunch and a break, period.” Evaluators’ analysis of survey data found that self-care was a statistically significant predictor of educator job satisfaction, meaning that higher frequencies of professional self-care were associated with higher job satisfaction. Professional self-care was also associated with lower levels of educator burnout. DPP can encourage educators to engage in self-care to bolster their job satisfaction and decrease their burnout.

Higher self-care ratings were associated with: Higher job satisfaction Lower rates of burnout

Promoting Educator Well-Being Several educators offered recommendations to increase staff’s opportunities for self-care and promote educator well-being. To increase breaks and time off, educators wished for more staff to cover their classrooms, a dedicated space to take breaks at their programs, and more planning time. One educator explained that a lack of planning time impacted their mental health, and although opportunity for planning time has increased in recent years, staff shortages made it impossible for the entire early childhood education (ECE) team to plan lessons together. They thought more substitutes, especially those who are comfortable working with children who have unique needs, would also help educators take more time off.

Educators thought trainings about managing their stress, setting boundaries, and preventing burnout would be beneficial. They also emphasized the importance of mental health support like paid mental health days and access to mental health services. They felt like their current benefits do not provide enough financial coverage for mental health services, and they also struggled to find mental health providers who understood the unique challenges educators face. One educator explained: “I’m spending a ton of money just on mental health support that I need but particularly in this field with how quickly you can burnout, our mental health should be prioritized.”

Educators’ recommendations to promote educator wellbeing: • • • •

• •

• •

Staff to cover classroom during breaks Dedicated breakroom Planning time Access to substitutes, especially special education substitutes Well-being-focused trainings Mental health support (e.g., paid mental health days, access/financial support for mental health services) Team building Increased pay

Educators also commonly recommended team-building activities to promote educator self-care, trust, and support. One educator explained that their school used to sponsor onsite yoga and that this self-care support promoted teacher connection. They elaborated:

“

Even though we weren't talking, it was another way to connect to coworkers and it kind of built a certain level of ‘we're in this together’ type of feeling. It felt like if I was struggling, I was able to go to [the teacher’s] classroom and just talk about it. And I feel the same way … with the other coworkers who showed up. And it was just kind of a magical moment.”

Educators were also asked how DPP could support the Denver ECE workforce’s overall health and well-being. Educators’ most common response was increasing pay for ECE educators. One educator explained the impact of increased pay:

“

I feel like if I got paid to do all the things I do I wouldn’t have to worry too much about working 2 other jobs to make a living. I sometimes feel like I’m not taken seriously, and it causes me to stress. I do so much, and I’m rarely rewarded for all the work I do. I would rather work somewhere else at times and not deal with so many trainings, angry parents, and children with a lot of emotional needs.”

Conclusions and Recommendations Early childhood educators shared their experiences with stress and burnout in their roles. They also shared the difficulties of practicing self-care at work and the need to prioritize their well-being. Results indicate the need for DPP to: 1. Promote opportunities for professional self-care: DPP could work with ECE program leadership to provide opportunities for educators to engage in professional self-care. DPP could sponsor self-care opportunities and trainings that focus on managing stress, setting boundaries, and preventing burnout. DPP could also help preschool programs plan and pay for team-building activities.

2. Advocate for policies that promote educator self-care: DPP could advocate for more substitutes, especially those who are comfortable working with children who have unique needs, which would help educators take more time off without feeling like their students would be impacted. DPP could work with

programs who have larger classrooms to help them create more opportunities for educators to take breaks. DPP could also continue to advocate for increased pay for educators that would decrease the need for educators to work multiple jobs, which causes more stress and less time for self-care.

3. Support educator mental health: Early childhood educators experience frequent stress and feel burnt out. DPP could advocate for paid mental health days. DPP could also consider partnering with mental health providers who specialize in supporting early childhood educators and provide financial support to access these providers’ services.