This dissertation research attempts to answer the questions "What do early childhood teachers perceive as their original sources of self-efficacy for strategic leadership in STEM education?" and "How does their initial self-efficacy for strategic leadership mediate their eventual engagement as international leaders in STEM…

Children benefit from engagement in early education and care (ECE) programs that support their learning and development while also providing a point of connection to critical resources for their families. For children from economically disadvantaged families, the lack of access to high-quality ECE results in a persistent achievement and…

Researchers have studied stress and burnout in the field of education for decades. The problem addressed in this study was that early childhood (EC) teachers of kindergarten through second grade in a large, northeastern, suburban public school district have returned to in-person instruction with many challenges related to the COVID-19 pandemic.…

Early childhood staff and family child care providers have stressful work lives, and turnover rates for early education staff hovers around 30% annually. Children in early education programs are suspended and expelled at rates estimated to be three times higher than children in K-12 programs. Research shows that teachers who are better able to…

Most efforts to improve school settings and increase student learning assume adequately trained and knowledgeable teachers with the personal capacity and professional support to effectively implement new programs. This is unlikely to be true in under-resourced communities where teachers face a range of personal and professional barriers to…