Begin the day with Veronica Smith, Ph.D, an Associate Professor in the Department of Education Psychology at the University of Alberta. Smith reviews the small base of research literature that explores Early Childhood Educator well-being (e.g., Hall-Kenyon, Bullough, MacKay, & Marshall, 2014) and how it is linked to a sense of ‘doing a good job’ otherwise referred to as teacher efficacy, on the one hand, and workplace ‘burnout,’ on the other hand. Smith describes a research project conducted in Alberta where they examined whether Early Childhood Educator beliefs and endorsement of teaching children about emotions was associated with the Educator’s own well-being. They hypothesized and found that if Educators felt that teaching children about emotions was important, their own well-being would be positively impacted. That is, they would have greater understanding of how emotion regulation contributes to well-being, healthy development, and supports optimal development for children who have challenging behaviours.
In addition, Smith will discuss other links that they found with teaching efficacy, or confidence in the Educator’s ability to support children’s development was related to their own well-being.
Sonya Hooper will then speak to the findings of a recent HR Survey ECDA performed across the PEI ELCC field. Discussing some of the knowns and unknowns that the results alert us to. Participants will discuss the impacts on the field and begin to consider solutions for identifies HR gaps and share best practice ideas!
Spend the afternoon with Detry Carragher as she delves into subtle and overt factors that influence employee recruitment, retention, and engagement. In this session, she will also highlight how to spot signs which may be indicative of occupational burnout and suggest strategies for supporting an employees' well-being. Participants will be actively engaged to identify creative workplace initiatives that can spark and rejuvenate teams and centres.
Pre-conference Day - Wednesday, November 7
9:00 - 9:30 AM - Registration
8:30 - 10:00 AM - Veronica Smith
10:00 - 10:30 AM - Nutrition Break
10:30 - 11:15 AM - Sonya Hooper
11:15 - 12:30 AM - Lunch (provided)
12:30 - 2: 30 PM - Detry Carragher
Additional Documentation