Dr. Wiltshire’s dissertation research reexamined Chicago School Readiness Project (Raver et al., 2011) data for associations between teacher stress, teacher warmth, and child outcomes in child behavior problems. This quantitative reanalysis served as the foundation for semi-structured qualitative individual and focus group interviews with present-day Head Start teachers in the Chicago area. Taken together, these data demonstrated that both stress and warmth circulate in HS classrooms, and that teachers find ways to work in ways that promote warmth, despite stress, formulating a set of practices that benefit the children in their care.

Currently, The Wiltshire Lab is undertaking an investigation to characterize the perceived and physiological stress of early childhood education teachers in the El Paso community. The study will examine 1) the ways that these types of stresses are associated with one another, and 2) teachers’ stories, histories and lived experiences.

Looking forward, the Wiltshire Lab seeks to build a database devoted to the lived experiences and histories of early childhood educators.

Are you interested in sharing your stories? We’d love to hear from current Head Start teachers!

Please reach out to us so that we may learn from you and your experiences.