The present study examined how the dosage and quality of the federal preschool program "Head Start" (HS) in the US related to children's self-regulation skills in kindergarten. Using Propensity Score Matching and multiple regression (OLS), this study explored how the number of years and hours a week of HS were related to self-regulation…

Early childhood educators play a critical role in the lives of young children, especially through their sensitive interactions. Educators' capacities to engage in high-quality interactions are shaped by their mental health. Studies examining early childhood educators' mental health often focus on psychopathology or negative aspects of mental…

Teaching is a demanding profession with teachers of very young children reporting high rates of stress and exhaustion. We tested the effects of a relationship-focused professional development intervention designed to enhance teachers' use of mindfulness-based strategies to support coping on trajectories of teachers' stress, exhaustion (emotional,…

Detrimental circumstances (e.g., poverty, homelessness) may affect parents, parenting, and children. These circumstances may lead to children being labeled "at risk" for school failure. To ameliorate this risk, more school and school earlier (e.g., Head Start) is offered. To improve child outcomes, Head Start teachers are expected to…

Teaching is one of the most stressful occupations, often due to the emotional investment of managing and caring for a classroom of students. In addition to environmental stressors, teacher wellbeing is impacted by relationships with students. While the relation between challenging student behaviors and adverse outcomes for both teachers and…

Using the nationally representative Head Start Family and Child Experiences Survey 2014 (FACES 2014), this study examined the associations of Head Start children's behavioral challenges with teachers' well-being (i.e., depressive symptoms, job commitment) and intent to leave, controlling for teacher characteristics. We sought to explore the direct…