Two new resources from Teachers College Press explore issues of burnout, stress, and self-care for  teachers in early childhood education.

Addressing Stress With Self-Compassion A Guide for Early Childhood Teachers David P. Barry

This interactive guide is designed to help preservice early childhood educators use self-compassion to mitigate the stress of teaching. Barry argues that learning healthy stress-management strategies while enrolled in teacher education programs will equip students with the resilience needed to manage stress when they enter their own classrooms. The goal is to beat the odds of attrition with higher levels of job satisfaction and fewer instances of burnout. This book includes research findings on the benefits of practicing self-compassion for preservice early childhood teachers, some of the common stressors and challenges teachers experience, and how they have addressed each challenge with self-compassion. Readers are encouraged to respond to writing prompts that address these common challenges and then rate their self-compassion score throughout the text. This is important reading for early care and education students, teacher educators, administrators, and other stakeholders who can make changes to mitigate stressors in their programs and schools.

Teacher Well-Being in Early Childhood A Resource for Early Care and Education Professionals Angela C. Baum and Kerrie L. Schnake With Eva Marie Shivers

A teacher’s well-being has a powerful impact on their work with children, families, and colleagues, and can influence the overall quality of the program in which they are employed. With a specific focus on the unique factors related to the field of early childhood care and education, this book discusses the concept of well-being and how it applies specifically to teachers of young children. The authors provide a rationale and guidance for integrating teacher well-being content into both preservice and inservice professional learning environments. This comprehensive resource also explores the implications of, and connections between, teacher well-being, equity, and social justice. The authors share examples of well-being programs that have been implemented throughout the United States and examine the policy and practice efforts that are necessary to embed well-being culture into early care and education programs.

Featured photo by Ron Lach