The Role of Early Childhood Teachers’ Sense of Community and Work Engagement in Child Development

Preschool-aged children’s behavioral regulation and social competence predict their school readiness (Peisner-Feinberg et al., 2001). In early care and education settings, teachers play a critical role in stimulating children’s social and behavioral competence. In order to maximize teachers’ social-emotional practices in a classroom, systems need to support teachers’ social-emotional capacity and engagement in their careers (Buettner et al., 2016). McGinty et al. (2008) suggested that teachers’ sense of community, an aspect of workplace climate, influences teachers’ attitudes toward their job. However, it is less clear whether the effects of teachers’ sense of community on engagement extend to child outcomes. In this study, we explored the direct and indirect associations between teachers’ sense of community and children’s behavioral regulation and social competence via teachers’ work engagement.

We collected data from 350 parents/children and 54 lead teachers in preschool classrooms. Teachers responded to questions about their demographics, sense of community (11 items, α = .86) and work engagement (8 items, α = .85). We directly observed children’s behavioral self-regulation using the Head-to-Toes task (Ponitz et al., 2008) and teachers responded to the Social Competence and Behavior Evaluation items (LaFreniere & Dumas, 1996) measuring children’s social competence, anxiety/withdrawal, and anger/aggression (10 items each, α = .87 - .93).

Path analysis was conducted to simultaneously estimate the direct and indirect associations after controlling for children’s age, sex, race/ethnicity, parental income, and teachers’ educational attainment, teaching certificate status, and experience years in the field and the current program. The model fit was excellent, χ² = 19.72, p = .71, RMSEA = .00, CFI = 1.00. We first found that there was no direct association between teachers’ sense of community and child outcomes after controlling for covariates. However, teachers’ sense of community was significantly associated with their work engagement (β = .39, p < .001). In turn, teachers’ work engagement was significantly associated with children’s behavioral self-regulation (β = .09, p < .08) and anxiety/withdrawal (β = -.19, p < .001). Teachers reporting more positive sense of community were better engaged in their work, which in turn, was associated with children’s higher levels of behavioral self-regulation and lower levels of anxiety/withdrawal.

The current study suggests the importance of creating supportive workplace environments. Reducing conflicts between staff members and improving teachers’ collegiality and sense of belonging might help stimulate teachers’ work engagement as well as children’s social and behavioral competence.