Educating Young Children Volume 1 - Summer 2025 | Page 49

every educator’ s wellness. In a 2024 study that we conducted, we collected data from interviews and survey responses to understand how Black, Latina / o, Asian, and other educators of color could be better supported( see“ Our Study’ s Participants” below). Through their voices, we discuss the workplace challenges they have faced and solutions that program leaders can consider to cultivate educator wellbeing in their settings.

Our Study’ s Participants

In 2024, we conducted a study that included surveying 142 early childhood educators of color in 27 states and 22 follow-up interviews. One goal in designing our survey was to give participants options that would better reflect a comprehensive understanding of racial / ethnic identity. We created categories based on the work of Samantha Viano and Dominique J. Baker, who suggested adaptations of the US Census’ s racial / ethnic categories.( You can read more about this in their 2020 article,“ How Administrative Data Collection and Analysis Can Better Reflect Racial and Ethnic Identities.”) In addition, we invited educators to choose from multiple options when indicating which types of programs they worked in, so the total listed is higher than 100 percent.

Here is what the participants selected with regard to racial / ethnic identities:

› 55 percent identified as Black / African American, non-Hispanic

› 27 percent identified as Hispanic

› 6 percent identified as Asian, non-Hispanic

› 6 percent identified as Biracial / Multiracial

› 6 percent identified as Other racial / ethnicity categories

Here is what participants selected for the types of programs they worked in:

› 44 percent selected Early Head Start / Head Start programs

› 33 percent selected private programs

› 29 percent selected public prekindergarten programs