posted on 2017-01-12, 00:00authored byKM Zinsser, A Zinsser
With the call from federal and state officials to increase access to high-quality early childhood education only growing louder, programs continue to struggle to attract and support a workforce capable of providing such instruction and care. One critical component of this support is the construction of a workplace environment that teachers perceive as psychologically safe and in which they feel capable of engaging in the challenging work of early childhood education. In the present set of case studies, the authors explore the extent to which a previously developed model of psychosocial safety climate applies to preschool contexts. Using teacher focus groups and administrator interviews the authors present examples of directors' management practices and center's policies and procedures that reflect a degree of valuing of teacher well-being and psychological safety. Additionally, the ways teachers' experiences of the climate relate to their beliefs and behaviors in the classroom are explored.
History
Publisher Statement
Post print version of article may differ from published version. This is an electronic version of an article published in Zinsser, K. M. and Zinsser, A. Two Case Studies of Preschool Psychosocial Safety Climates. Research in Human Development. 2016. 13(1): 49-64. doi: 10.1080/15427609.2016.1141278.
Research in Human Development is available online at: http://www.informaworld.com/smpp/ DOI: 10.1080/15427609.2016.1141278.