Home/Resources/Child Care/New Data on the Health and Well-Being of Early Childhood Educators

January 16, 2025

New Data on the Health and Well-Being of Early Childhood Educators

How well are those who care?

Explore recent data on highlighting early childhood educator's physical health, mental health and financial well-being.

Over the past few years, Dr. Walter Gilliam and his team at the Buffett Early Childhood Institute engaged in a large scale epidemiologic study with the participation of more than 126,000 child care professionals across the country. Initial results of this study were revealed at the 2024 LEARN Conference.

Tune in as he covers what the data reveal about key questions like:

During the pandemic, early childhood educators were more likely to die from COVID than other essential workers. Why?

Rates of diagnosable depression for early childhood education professionals increased 10% from 2020 to 2021. Why?

For those who left the early childhood education field during the pandemic, how high of a retention bonus would have made them consider staying for another year?

How does an educator’s racial identity affect rates of depression and stress?

Are early childhood education professionals reporting a higher level of ‘challenging behaviors’ compared to pre-pandemic?

How can we advance supports for early childhood educators?

watch now

The Health, Mental Health, and General Wellbeing of Our Early Childhood Education Professionals

Fill out the form below to view the full presentation of this fascinating data.

What educators are saying about the data

Share this page and join past attendees in our effort to highlight the need for systemic change

“This was a great webinar and provided data to back what I had witnessed in my own community.”
“As a new mental health consultant coming from school social work, this has been an incredibly enlightening discussion in terms of perception and respect for teachers and the field as a whole. Of course, we know these things but this discussion has conceptualized things for me as a new consultant!”
“I attended this session at the Zero to Three Conference. This talk blew me away. It connected to what I saw and heard in the Early Childhood program I work at.”
“Dr. Gilliam is so incredibly knowledgeable and a tremendous resource and advocate.”
“This entire webinar needs to be on a national broadcast, everyone needs to know what we have gone through and continue to go through.”

How can programs support educator well-being?

Explore six models of comprehensive and innovative wellness interventions designed to enhance early childhood educators’ well-being.

Related Resources

Journal

Intentional Leadership and Workforce Wellness at Malaika Early Learning Center

At a time when many child care centers struggle to retain qualified, engaged educators, Malaika Early Learning Center is growing and even opening a second site. We talked to the center's Executive Director to learn more about her approach.

Details

Resource

How can mindfulness support early childhood educators?

Studies show that practicing mindfulness in early childhood settings has an impact on teachers and on the children in their care.

Details

Distillation

The Case for Better Compensation of Early Educators

Despite the immense importance of their work, early childhood educators often face inadequate compensation and undervaluation in society.

Details