Mentors: Lambert, Richard G.; Strobel, Johannes M.; Dettmer, Amanda M.

Purpose: In this project, the Principal Investigator (PI) is examining the relationships between early childhood educator (ECE) stress and child executive function and vocabulary in a Mexican-American border community. Early childhood educators play a critical role in the cognitive development of young children. Research suggests that high levels of stress among early childhood educators may negatively affect their ability to provide high quality education and emotional support, which in turn may impact the developmental outcomes of children. This project explores this premise, specifically focusing on understanding the stress experienced by Mexican-American early childhood educators near the United States-Mexico border and how these stressful experiences may be associated with their students’ executive function and vocabulary.

Research Plan: The study-which will take place in El Paso, Texas-has four research aims:

• documenting the lived experiences of the Mexican-American ECE workforce
• characterizing the physiological and psychological stress of the Mexican-American ECE workforce
• examining the associations between socio-demographic factors and Mexican-American ECE workforce stress levels
• examining the associations between Mexican-American ECE workforce stress and the executive function and vocabulary outcomes of their Mexican-American students.

During the first two years of this mixed-methods project, the PI will recruit 40 Mexican-American early childhood educators who teach at El Paso-area early childhood centers, Head Start programs, or public prekindergarten classrooms. The PI will survey the participating educators about their psychological stress (workplace and personal) and will conduct cortisol testing on the educators’ hair samples to measure their physiological stress. In addition, the PI will interview 20% of the educators to learn more about how they experience stress. To assess child outcomes, the PI will recruit 400 Mexican-American children taught by the participating early childhood educators to be part of the study. The PI will then directly assess the executive function and vocabulary skills of participating children. Once data collection is complete, the PI will use qualitative, quantitative, and mixed-methods data analyses to address the specific research aims.

Career Plan: The PI's career development plan is focused on further developing skills in collecting and analyzing hair sample data, quantitative research methods, and communication of scientific data and results to policymakers, educators, and faculty developers. To accomplish these goals, the PI will participate in meetings with mentors and a statistical consultant, training workshops, science writing workshops, and national conferences.

Products and Publications

Products: The PI will present research findings at national conferences, produce peer-reviewed scholarly publications, and host a culminating summit for the El Paso ECE workforce community.

ERIC Citations: Find available citations in ERIC for this award here.