Chapin Hall

How Racial Matching is Related to Early Childhood Teacher Well-being

Teachers at all grade levels are experiencing excessive amounts of stress and depression. For teachers in kindergarten through 12th grade, racial concordance (matching) between teachers and their students is related to lower teacher stress levels. However, this relationship has not been studied in the early care and education (ECE) workforce. This brief explores what factors are associated with stress and depression among frontline ECE staff and whether racial concordance between staff and the children in their classrooms changes those associations. 

What We Did 

Researchers used data collected in 2019 for the National Survey of Early Care and Education (NSECE) and studied what factors predict stress and depression among frontline staff in ECE programs. They also examined the association between classroom diversity and the well-being of the ECE workforce. The NSECE asks teachers and staff about the children in their classrooms, professional development policies, roles and responsibilities, and well-being. Researchers focused on four main topics: ECE teachers’ job stress level, their depression level, classroom racial and ethnic concordance, and classroom diversity. 

What We Found 

Higher racial concordance between teachers and students was associated with lower teacher depression levels. The other three variables associated with lower teacher depression levels include lower staff turnover at a center and being a Hispanic or Asian teacher.  

Teacher stress levels were not associated with how racially concordant teachers were with their students. There were four variables associated with lower job stress: lower wages, working less than full time, being a Hispanic teacher, and, for teachers with household incomes above $30,000, having a greater variety of student racial and ethnic diversity in the classroom.

What It Means 

This study only uses data from the NSECE survey; therefore, we do not know why or how any of the variables affect teacher well-being. We call for additional research, primarily qualitative, with ECE workers to understand how these factors are related. This study makes it clear that the race and ethnicity of teachers and children matters in ECE classrooms. This does not mean that teachers should only teach students of the same race or ethnicity. Rather, there need to be courageous conversations about the impact of race and ethnicity in the classroom and how early childhood educators can model living and thriving in a multiracial and multicultural society. 

Read the brief