Educator wellbeing and family engagement in Australian early learning settings

While the COVID-19 pandemic brought with it multiple challenges for families and the Early Childhood Education and Care (ECEC) workforce, it also highlighted the essential role of ECEC in the lives of children and families and presented unique opportunities for innovation and learning. The current study sought to explore learnings from this uniquely challenging period, including the factors and strategies that best supported educator wellbeing and family engagement in ECEC settings, from the perspectives of families, centre directors and educators. In 2021, 104 Centre Directors/Educators and 102 families completed online surveys exploring wellbeing and educator–family relationships. Correlations suggest that robust professional wellbeing and resilience are potential enabling factors for strong family engagement, and that supportive organisational structures in ECEC settings are a protective factor for both educator wellbeing and family engagement. In addition, five effective family engagement strategies were derived from the qualitative data: (1) drawing on personal and professional knowledges to enrich children’s learning at home; (2) prioritising regular and reliable communication with families; (3) maintaining familiar relationships and a sense of community; (4) providing person-centred support and a bridge to other services; and (5) nurturing mutually supportive educator–family relationships. Learnings provide important insights that may inform ongoing quality improvements across different ECEC contexts, and to help safeguard against the negative impacts of future global crises

Developmental psychology · Early childhood · Early childhood education · Pedagogy · Political science · Professional development · Psychological resilience · Public relations · Sociology · Workforce · Early Childhood Education and Development · Family and Disability Support Research · Infant Development and Preterm Care · Psychology · Social Psychology

• Navigating Discrete Pedagogical Orientations

  Open Access•Eleni Sotiropoulou, Konstantinos Petrogiannis et al.•Early Childhood Education Journal•2026

  Incluir item

• “My Emotions Do Matter”

  Open Access•Melanie Kate Dickerson, Marianne Fenech et al.•Early Childhood Education Journal•2026

  Incluir item

• A Snapshot of Early Childhood Teachers’ Pay Across Australia / La coyuntura de los salarios de los docentes de primera infancia en Australia

  Open Access•Susanne Garvis, A Keary et al.•Journal for the Study of…•2026

  Incluir item

• Stress and parenting during the global Covid-19 pandemic

  Open Access•Samantha M Brown, Jenalee R Doom et al.•Child Abuse & Neglect•2020

  Incluir item

• Early Childhood Professional Well-Being as a Predictor of the Risk of Turnover in Child Care

  Mary Benson McMullen, Melissa Lee et al.•Journal of Research in Childhood…•2020

  Incluir item

• Early Childhood Educators’ Wellbeing During the Covid-19 Pandemic

  Open Access•Patricia Eadie, Tricia Eadie et al.•Early Childhood Education Journal•2021

  Incluir item

• Risk and resilience in family well-being during the Covid-19 pandemic.

  Heather Prime, Mark Wade et al.•American Psychologist•2020

  Incluir item

• The brief resilience scale

  Brent W Smith, Bruce W Smith et al.•International Journal of…•2008

  Incluir item

• The Bioecological Model of Human Development

  Urie Bronfenbrenner, Pamela A Morris et al.•Handbook of Child Psychology•2007

  Incluir item

• Caregiver-Reported Changes in the Socioemotional Wellbeing and Daily Habits of Children With Special Educational Needs During the First Covid-19 National Lockdown in the United Kingdom

  Open Access•Evren Morgül, Angeliki Kallitsoglou et al.•Frontiers in Education•2022

  Incluir item

• Reflecting on reflexive thematic analysis

  Braun, Virginia Braun et al.•Qualitative Research in Sport and…•2019

  Incluir item

• Profiles of family engagement in home- and center-based Early Head Start programs

  Open Access•Shinyoung Jeon, Kyong-Ah Kwon et al.•Early Childhood Research Quarterly•2020

  Incluir item

• Depth, persistence, and timing of poverty and the development of school readiness skills in rural low-income regions

  Open Access•Margaret Burchinal, Robert C Carr et al.•Early Childhood Research Quarterly•2018

  Incluir item

• The role of preschool in promoting children’s healthy development

  Open Access•Sharon Goldfeld, Elodie O’connor et al.•Early Childhood Research Quarterly•2015

  Incluir item

• Early childhood educators’ psychological distress and wellbeing during the Covid-19 pandemic

  Open Access•Emily Berger, Gloria Quinones et al.•Early Childhood Research Quarterly•2022

  Incluir item

• Influences of Parent Engagement in Early Childhood Education Centers and the Home on Kindergarten School Readiness

  Open Access•Melissa A Barnett, Katherine W Paschall et al.•Early Childhood Research Quarterly•2020

  Incluir item

• From struggling to flourishing and thriving

  Open Access•Rochelle Hine, Pamela Patrick et al.•Teaching and Teacher Education•2022

  Incluir item

• From "It Has Stopped Our Lives" to "Spending More Time Together Has Strengthened Bonds

  Open Access•Subhadra Evans, Antonina Mikocka-Walus et al.•Frontiers in Psychology•2020

  Incluir item