STUDY REVEALS STRENGTHS, STRUGGLES OF NEBRASKA'S CHILD CARE PROVIDERS, TEACHERS
ABOUT THE SURVEY
The Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Survey reveals some areas of promise within the early care and education field in Nebraska but also points to a number of significant challenges facing the teachers and child care providers who guide and nurture young children’s learning and development during the critical first eight years of life.
The workforce survey is the largest, most comprehensive of the state's early childhood workforce. Low compensation, lack of health and retirement benefits, uneven professional preparation, and stress are among the everyday challenges confronted by the more than 1,600 participants in the study. Participants represented four early childhood settings—licensed home-based child care programs, licensed center-based programs, public PreKindergarten programs, and elementary schools serving children in Kindergarten through Grade 3.
The survey is an initiative of the Buffett Institute’s Elevating the Early Childhood Workforce program and was conducted with assistance from the University of Nebraska–Lincoln’s Bureau of Sociological Research. The Institute announced findings from the survey report, titled Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Survey: A Focus on Teachers and Providers, Sept. 6, 2017, at the University of Nebraska’s Sheldon Museum of Art before an audience of nearly 200 community and education leaders, public officials, early childhood professionals, and others.
Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Survey: A Focus on Providers and Teachers
Survey Report (Download PDF)
Survey Report (View Online)
News Release
Event Video (Full Presentation and Panel Discussion)
Event Video Highlights
Event Photos
Findings PowerPoint Presentation
Webinar PowerPoint | Video
RESEARCH BRIEFS
Buffett Institute researchers drew from data from the Nebraska Early Childhood Workforce Survey for a research brief released in January 2019 on early childhood teacher turnover in Nebraska. The research found that turnover is a serious challenge across early childhood settings but that the problem is most critical in child care centers.
Early Childhood Teacher Turnover in Nebraska
Research Brief (Download PDF)
Research Brief (View Online)
News Release
A second research brief drawn from analysis of data from the workforce survey was released in April 2019. The research found that most teachers (86%) across early childhood settings reported some depressive symptoms during the prior week, and approximately one in 10 teachers reported clinically significant depressive symptoms. The brief was authored by Amy Roberts, Ph.D., Kathleen Gallagher, Ph.D., Alexandra Daro, M.A., Iheoma Iruka, Ph.D., and Susan Sarver, Ph.D., and is based on the study by the same authors, Workforce well-being: Personal and workplace contributions to early educators’ depression across settings, which appeared in the March/April issue of the Journal of Applied Developmental Psychology.
Risk Factors for Depression Among Early Childhood Teachers
Research Brief (Download PDF)
Research Brief (View Online)
News Release
For more information about the survey or the Institute's Elevating the Early Childhood Workforce program, please contact Susan Sarver, director of workforce planning and development (ssarver@nebraska.edu or 402-554-3762).