Wellbeing, Workplace, and Professional Development: Implications for Early Childhood Education
Degree Date
5-2025
Document Type
Thesis
Degree Name
Doctor of Education
Department
Education
First Advisor
Dr. Laura Wangsness-Willemsen
Second Advisor
Dr. Jean Rock
Third Advisor
Dr. Tamara Nuttal
Abstract
This dissertation examines the narratives of six early childhood education (ECE) educators who participated in a wellbeing-informed professional development (PD) program in Minnesota. Using narrative inquiry, the study reveals how holistic, wellbeing-centered PD provided critical support to diverse educators, enabling them to develop strategies for personal and professional wellbeing. The study further analyzes the award-winning ECE workforce development program participants took part in, revealing how self-reflective pedagogical development with individualized training and administrative supports affirmed and sustained participants. Racially, culturally, and linguistically diverse educators provide critical insights into how specific program structures supported their growth, including guided self-reflection, pedagogical training, coaching, mentorship, and economic support. Participants report these elements created conditions for integrating wellbeing strategies into both their personal and professional practices. Through an interdisciplinary, feminist, and ecological framework, this study reframes ECE workforce development by centering the embodied and intersectional realities of caregivers. Notably, as the lead developer and instructor of the program studied, the author approached the auto-ethnographic portions of this work with the same critical self reflection expected of participants. Findings demonstrate that wellbeing-focused PD enhanced participants' physiological, psychological, and emotional wellbeing while strengthening their professional commitment. Educators reported increased quality of practice—up to 300% higher than national estimates— even among those who experienced work-related injuries. Participants reported the development of their pedagogical and professional confidence fostered resilience against workplace challenges, and participants reported successfully transferring enhanced social-emotional skills to various professional domains beyond licensed childcare settings. Nevertheless, over two-thirds of participants reported work-related chronic pain or acute injuries despite their continued commitment to the field. This alarming finding underscores urgent calls for PD models that address not only psychological and emotional resilience, but also physical safety and wellbeing. These findings further suggest current ECE professional development systems and workplace practices virtually guarantee economic precarity and physiological harm for a predominantly female, racially diverse workforce. Ultimately, the study advocates for an emphasis on holistic workplace and personal wellbeing as foundational to PD and sustainable quality in early childhood education.